DYWICH Young Ambassador, Katie Horner reports on Monsterfest and Mock Cop 27
25 November 2022
Hello, My name is Katie Horner. I am a DYW Young Ambassador at Invergordon Academy with an interest in Journalism and English. I have recently had the amazing opportunity to take part in events through the help of DYW such as Monsterfest, allowing me to gain an insight into the different career paths within the music industry. MockCOP 27 was another event we as a group were able to take part in. This event particularly opened our eyes to the changes we can make to the climate crisis currently affecting our planet allowing us to see the impact it is having on so many countries but also letting us see how us as people can have an impact on the climate crisis.
Monsterfest
Monsterfest was an event I will be talking about for as long as I can before someone tells me to shut up. From the get go we were greeted by some of the most welcoming people. I was buzzing to know all the different career opportunities that exist within the music industry but this event was more than that. We were able to have group discussions and ask questions about the many ways someone may find themselves in a career opportunity in the music career from PR and journalism to music producing to lighting the vast range of information available to us really allowed me to see how endless a career in the music industry is making me realize its a lot more than just the singers and bands, its the stuff behind the scenes that is crucial hearing stories of how people came to be in the music industry, from playing music in their garage with a few mates to hiking along with your favorite bands seeing how much the music industry has changed over the last even 20 years makes me excited for the future, excited for what's to come. That event was really an experience I will never forget and will cherish for many many years to come.
MockCOP 27
The prepping was the stressful part, each lunchtime for around 2 and a half months coming together discussing our plans. What was best for our country? Working as a team discussing the best outcome all huddled together around a row of tables papers sprawled across every surface. By the end of the preparation we didn't know what to expect from the event, but that was okay. We were all so excited, and a little nervous, for what was to come. The majority of us just said bring it on, we were excited to see how it would unfold. The ride there was one big karaoke session with the delegates “warming up their voices for talking” . I myself was a reporter and had no idea what to expect. Our group of delegates were welcomed by a number of wonderful people who made us feel at ease and comfortable, we even got a nice goodie bag.
The opening statements from each group commenced allowing us reporters to get a gist for how each country was planning this event to play out in their favour with China and the UK definitely playing their parts even with a quote from the UK “we could start WW3 if we wanted” with China taking an aggressive stance making each of the countries and organisations nervous to negotiate with them and me as a reporter intrigued to witness how it would play out with throughout the event many countries and organisations debating and some coming to agreements on resolutions best suited for their countries with Ethiopia becoming “besties with Brazil and Greenpeace” . It was overall a very fun and enlightening experience.
This event gave me my first experience into journalism allowing me to have a taste of what it may be like as a career. I will always appreciate this opportunity. Asking the difficult questions, trying to dig to the bottom of the negotiations, interviewing delegates, writing scripts and gathering information to present in breaking news segments.
