Shared Sentences

with Community Justice Partners

about the project

Shared Sentences was an accredited Participatory Video Project delivered by Media Education in collaboration with Community Justice Partners, Edinburgh College and people with lived experience of the justice system.

The purpose of the project was to collaborate with people with lived experience of the justice system to co-produce films, in a non-hierarchical media team, bringing the work of Community Justice Partners to life.

The resulting films communicate the services, initiatives, findings and plans of Community Justice Partners. They are used for training and learning, to amplify messages and to drive forward social change within communities.

what we did

Five Shared Sentences programmes were delivered between 2013 and 2022, working in co-production with men and women with experience of criminal justice.

Working together with Community Justice Glasgow, the programme started with the collaborative media team, ‘Ripple Effect’ made up of people with lived experience of the justice system. The team took part in Peer Research workshops based on how to look after the storyteller and manage their own lived experience in a context close to home. They took part in planning and skills sessions to develop film themes and identify contributors. They took part in filming sessions to capture multi-perspective stories including personal testimonies from people with lived experience, interviews with service providers, context from partners and documentary style visuals.

Between 2021-23, working with a lived experience media team, we created seven documentary film resources to highlight the breadth of the work of Community Justice Glasgow. Together we ran a facilitated screening for stakeholders across Community Justice in Glasgow. The films were used as conversation starters for themed discussions. Feedback from the event was captured on film and has informed the five year priority plan for the city.

The media team achieved our Access to Media and our Community Leadership qualification certified by Edinburgh College. The films are still out on a roadshow of community screenings, designed to discuss the themes they raise.

You can watch our film showcase (2020-2022) online.

“Working in partnership with Media Education was one of the most rewarding experiences for both our staff and service users. The Media Ed workers were supportive, gentle, encouraging and enthusiastic; taking some very vulnerable women and coaching them through the process of producing their own film about a difficult subject.”

Jan Ferguson, Edinburgh Women's Aid, Shakti Women's Aid
“From the outset, I have been struck by the strength of the ethos of Media Education’s approach. Adopting a film creation process that is very respectful of the lives and issues of people and communities and using empowering methods has been ideal for what we are trying to achieve.”

Dr Trevor Lakey, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
“The team at Media Education have been invaluable to us, offering a flexible programme which engages young people at their own pace; encourages team work; embraces learning and new ideas; builds confidence; and encourages young people to complete a project, perhaps for the first time in their lives.”

Karen Brown, East Lothian Works
“Media Education made the process fun, easy and fulfilling. Our community were central to the development of the idea, the content and the final film that was produced. We would not hesitate working with them again and look forward to future collaborations.”

Georgia Artus, LifeCare Edinburgh
“Perhaps the most important aspect related to my work is that the children, families and practitioners who have been involved in filming have felt well supported by Media Education staff – they may have been nervous at first but have felt relaxed and happy at the end of the filming process.”

Elaine Kerridge, Children in Scotland
“Media Education has worked with us for over nine years on the Scottish Young Carers Festival to run the radio station and to produce a consultation video. When we’ve got this resource, decision makers and local authorities can hear directly from the young carers. It’s a really powerful tool.”

Lorna Goodwin, Carers Trust Scotland
“Media Education captured lots of special moments when they made several short films with the National Involvement Network. Film is a great way to share the stories of the people we support and our members loved the whole experience, especially when they got a chance to work the camera and sound recorder!”

Brid Cullen, ARC Scotland
“The team at Media Education dealt with the people that we interviewed in a very compassionate and empathetic way. You don’t know that sort of thing on a piece of paper, it’s only when you see them working in action.”

Kirstie Cusick, National Lottery Promotions Unit
“Being able to hear what people said in their own words and voices brought key points to life for different audiences. I was impressed with Media Education’s ability to understand what we needed very quickly, help make people feel comfortable on camera, edit to key messages and ultimately produce a very moving film.”

Zoe Ferguson, Carnegie UK Trust
“Media Education listen to what the client or trainees needs are, make well considered suggestions and deliver according to time and budget. Each of my interactions garnered excellently produced, professional results – from detailed quotes to highly rated, popular training sessions – and was exceedingly good value.”

Ailsa Macfarlane, Resourcing Scotland’s Heritage
“I was impressed with how well Media Education engaged with our membership and staff as well as how flexible and adaptable they were in ensuring everyone felt comfortable in front of the camera. The videos are of exceptional quality and have projected our services in a vibrant, emotive and engaging presentation.”

Gary Seath, Scottish War Blinded

Shared Sentences

about the project

what we did

“From the outset, I have been struck by the strength of the ethos of Media Education’s approach. Adopting a film creation process that is very respectful of the lives and issues of people and communities and using empowering methods has been ideal for what we are trying to achieve.”

“Media Education made the process fun, easy and fulfilling. Our community were central to the development of the idea, the content and the final film that was produced. We would not hesitate working with them again and look forward to future collaborations.”

“Perhaps the most important aspect related to my work is that the children, families and practitioners who have been involved in filming have felt well supported by Media Education staff – they may have been nervous at first but have felt relaxed and happy at the end of the filming process.”

“The team at Media Education dealt with the people that we interviewed in a very compassionate and empathetic way. You don’t know that sort of thing on a piece of paper, it’s only when you see them working in action.”

Life As We Know It

Flourish House