Special Issue ‐‐ The Video Culture Project

In this final issue for 2001 we are pleased to present a set of articles about the VideoCulture Project an international project which 'investigated the ways in which young people from different countries produce, exchange and interpret video productions'. A very significant aspect of the project was that it enabled many of the participating young people to act as creators/producers of video material to be viewed by their peers: they did not just act as media consumers. Developments in digital technologies are making it possible for media production and publishing activities to be undertaken by an increasing number of people, not just by the recognised and established media organisations. Hand-held digital cameras and editing software on a personal computer do not require major levels of expenditure, and the Internet makes it possible to publish text, audio, still and moving pictures to a potential audience of many millions around the world. To a greater extent than ever before, people can be involved in the creation as well as the consumption of media communications. The VideoCulture Project sought to examine intercultural communication between groups of young people in a number of different countries (in Europe and North America). While there are considerable cultural differences between the groups taking part in this project, it seems appropriate to contemplate the possible outcomes from a more heterogeneous set of participants. To what extent is there a symbolic 'language' shared between western and non-western cultures? For example, in an earlier issue of this Journal, Maeda (2000) described a study in which a video produced by school students in Kenya served to challenge the existing conceptions of Japanese students about life in Africa. I feel that this is a fruitful area for further investigation. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. David Buckingham for acting as Guest Editor for this Special Issue.