CJSF hosts alternative summer camp

SFU’s campus and community radio station CJSF is holding their eighth annual Radio Kids Camp for children ages eight to 12.

The program gives children the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a radio station, equips them with radio journalism skills to produce content, and allows them to take over the air on the final day of the camp.

This year’s camp will run from August 10 to 14 and will accommodate approximately 10 participants. “We wanted to do an alternative summer camp,” said CJSF program assistant Gurpreet Kambo.

Kambo explained that due to the nature of CJSF being a campus and community radio station, providing alternative content on air is both a key priority and requirement.

The theme for this year’s camp is magic. “There’s kind of a magic in producing audio,” explained Kambo. “With film or radio [. . .] you don’t necessarily know exactly how it came together, there’s kind of a magic to that. We want to go behind the scenes and break that down and give the kids access to that.

“In terms of our philosophy, and being community-oriented, we feel that youth also have an important voice, and we want to be able to provide that opportunity,” continued Kambo. “We should be taking their intellectual and creative contributions more seriously.”

The camp will include workshops facilitated by CJSF staff and volunteers on storytelling, interviewing and field recording, beatboxing, and basic training in the “On-Air” studio.

The participants will also have the opportunity to do “streeters,” where they will approach passersby on campus to ask them a question of their choice.

A new addition to this year’s camp is a tour of CBC Vancouver’s Radio and TV studios on the third day. “It sort of fits into our magic theme,” said Kambo, “because it’s going behind the scenes to see what the magic is, and how the CBC comes together, because they produce such great stuff.”

On the last day of the camp, the participants will put their newly developed skills to use as they take over the station for a few hours. “They’re going to be the DJs, and the hosts, and the reporters, the interviewers, and they’re going to decide what music gets played and what are the important stories to tell,” Kambo explained.

In between all the hard work and training, the campers will also be making T-shirts and buttons, swimming at Kensington pool, hiking to Burnaby Mountain Park, and enjoying some sweet treats including pizza and ice cream.