Congress 2018 is a gathering organized by the Federations of Humanities and Social Sciences. The themes of the conference are Gathering Diversities and Reconciliation. It will bring as many as 4,000 scholars to the University of Regina and First Nations University from May 26 to June 1–right in the middle of our Summer Institute. So thousands of people and stories and projects and tours and cultural demonstrations and book launches are coming to us! You should start checking out the Congress site at https://www.congress2018.ca and finding events and people that you want to connect with.
Prior to the start of Congress, you will get a presentation by Jennifer Hollett, director of news and government at Twitter Canada. I posted a couple of links in her Instructor profile on this site, one introducing her and the other looking at really innovative ways Canadian organizations have used Twitter–including Saskatoon police using Twitter to get suggestions for roadside stops. Her presentation will give us a better understanding of how to use all the tools Twitter has available–including “heavy video expansion and stickers,” and lots of ideas for using Twitter in an “engaging and immersive fashion.”
During Congress, you will be working alongside the Congress 2018 communications team–starting with the training session they are having for the social media team on Thursday, May 24 afternoon. You will each (possibly in pairs to start off) be responsible for attending specific events and taking pictures, tweeting, posting, blogging, capturing video, etc. Check out their social media links at https://www.congress2018.ca/social-media and start following all of them 🙂
At the same time, Tamara Pimentel will be here to train you to produce stories for APTN’s online news site at www.aptnnews.ca. My plan, because there are so many of you, is to split you into two groups and alternate a.m. and p.m. between working for Congress’ social media team and training and filing stories to APTN.
It’s going to be a busy time, but you are going to learn a ton. And please remember, the goal is not to freak you out, the goal is to give you every opportunity to learn as much as you want as fast as you can. As my son says, this isn’t rocket surgery 🙂 and nobody will die if we mess up. In fact, learning from mistakes is the best way to learn.
As always, if you have questions or concerns, text or call me at 306-536-8069. Have great day.