Transatlantic Storytelling 2024 officially kicked off Tuesday, Jan. 9 as 16 students in Ball State’s award-winning Sports Link program met for first time in the new semester as part of MDIA 497: Transatlantic Storytelling.
The students were selected through a highly-competitive application process for the second iteration of Transatlantic Storytelling with partner university Cardiff Met in Cardiff, Wales.
Met program director Joe Towns opened the semester with a virtual lecture — Croeso i Gymru, Welcome To Wales.
“You are already part of something that will be life-changing,” Towns said. ”This partnership between our students and your group is truly unlike anything out there.”
During the presentation, Ball State students were introduced to Wales and the Welsh Culture, a nation of 3.1 million people — and an estimated 11.7 million sheep. Wales has more castles per square mile than any other European city.
Towns referenced Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas and asked the Ball State students to look up Thomas’ work called “Do Not Go Gentle” as inspiration for the project.
“Risk, reward, living life to the fullest”, Towns said. ”Taking opportunities and having experiences. That’s part of the Welsh culture and what this project is all about.”
“This is a legacy project,” added Ball State Sports Link senior director Chris Taylor. “I’m grateful, and excited, to watch the 16 of you in this room become even more close than you are, and build new relationships with your peers and staff in Cardiff, for an experience you will cherish the rest of your lives.”
The highlight of the project will be a 12-day cultural immersion trip to Wales in late February and early March 2024. While on the ground, students will collaborate with their peers in the Cardiff Met Sport Broadcast course to produce feature stories, live sporting events, studio shows and podcasts.
Prior to the trip, students will research and collaborate with Cardiff Met students to develop stories to film during the immersion. This continues an on-going exchange of pedagogy, global sports production trends and virtual guest lectures and student connections.