Kernel Media Project
for the promotion of media skills
among young people
Edition 2019 and 2020
International Balloon Festival in Chateaux-d'Oex
Chateaux-d'Oex - Canton of Vaud - Switzerland
RadioBus – DGEO VD – MagTuner – Rotary Club Pays d’Enhaut
2019 and 2020 – International Balloon Festival in Château-d'Œx
Following the 2019 edition of the Festival Gazette, the Château-d’Œx College once again took charge of producing the gazette in 2020.
While the 2019 edition involved three schools, that year the College managed the production of the three daily publications entirely on its own.
The team, made up of students aged 11 to 14 who already had experience from the 2019 Balloon Festival and the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, was responsible for the production. Both the structure and content of the magazine were fully handled by the student teams, without any adult intervention.
A project carried out with RadioBus
This work around the Festival Gazette was part of a larger project conducted with RadioBus, a mobile studio set up on site. In parallel with producing the newspaper, the young participants also created live radio broadcasts.
They hosted segments, played music, and most importantly, conducted public interviews, including with political figures, festival organizers, and iconic guests such as composer and singer Henry Dès.
This dual approach—print press and radio—allowed them to explore different journalistic formats and develop a free, lively voice closely connected to the festival’s current events.
Observations by Thomas Zoller, who accompanied both editions
“I saw how serious, motivated, and committed the children can be when given clear tasks and real responsibility. They were very engaged with their environment, had an excellent knowledge of the festival and their community. It wasn’t the celebrity Bertrand Piccard who fascinated them, but Manu, the local announcer of Château-d’Œx—their true star.
Moreover, I was also impressed by how seriously the adults took the youth. Festival guests enthusiastically agreed to answer their questions and be photographed.
Some, like the ambassador of Kazakhstan, even left an official lunch early to participate in their newspaper. This showed how important this project was to the whole community.
On the last day, saying goodbye was very hard. What we experienced in three days went far beyond producing a newspaper: it was a true human adventure.”
Shahen Shah, a pro’s eye!
This newspaper contains 6 pages
Édition spéciale en hommage
Although the editorial team produced enough texts and illustrations to fill 8 pages, they chose to publish only 6 pages as a tribute to Mr. Burri, the owner of the local printing press. For 40 years, he was the one who printed the Château-d’Œx newspaper. The inhabitants of this small village were used to reading on the front page: "This newspaper contains 6 pages."
Mr. Burri was already retired, but he insisted on personally printing the children’s gazette. Every morning during the festival, he came specially to his former workshop to carry out the printing. He shared that for years he had tried to motivate the school—which he could see from the window of his workshop—to produce content for his newspaper.
He admitted that, in the past, "unfortunately, we never succeeded in making this project happen."
Therefore, printing the children’s magazine held a special meaning for him. All the students agreed that Mr. Burri would be touched to see "This newspaper contains 6 pages" on the front page of the gazette.