Deaf children and young people from across the country were given instruction in the art of vlogging in a virtual masterclass on Wednesday, 18 November.

The online event was organised by the National Deaf Children’s Society, which supports the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and their families.

Under the expert guidance of Martha Shacolas and Tomi Ojo from Media Trust’s Vlogstar Challenge, the group of deaf young people, aged between 14 and 18, were shown how to vlog, filming fundamentals and editing basics, and learned how to create engaging video content, on issues they care about, using just their smartphones. The fully accessible online masterclass was conducted via Zoom.

Vlogstar Challenge is a unique competition and training initiative run by Media Trust, based in Victoria, and the Jack Petchey Foundation, in partnership with YouTube and the Evening Standard, that equips young people with the relevant skills for a modern communications age.

Now in its sixth year, Vlogstar Challenge helps 16-25 year-olds from across London and Essex develop the skills and understanding to have their voices heard and show the world that young people are doing great things in a positive way.

Commenting on the workshop, Martha said:

“Tomi and I were super excited to work with the National Deaf Children’s Society on our workshop and were genuinely blown away by the young people. The content they produced was technically savvy and the topics they covered were informative and inspiring. They could be the vlogstars of the future!”

Sally McNamara, who helped organise the workshops for the National Deaf Children’s Society, said:

“I want to say a huge thank you to Martha and Tomi for a fantastic workshop. It’s been a real privilege to see the vlogging talents of the deaf young people who attended. They clearly had a lot to say. I hope this workshop has inspired them to take their passion to the next level.

“At the National Deaf Children’s Society, we know just how challenging lockdown and this pandemic has been for so many families. We’re running events to bring them together, support them to develop new skills and to meet other deaf young people across the county who are going through similar experiences.”

In addition to the vlogging masterclass, the National Deaf Children’s Society organised a wide range of virtual activity workshops for deaf children and young people in the autumn, including activities such as street dancing, drama, illustration and rapping.