Community Learning Exchange: Community Journalism
Posted: 13 October 2026, in News
Earlier this week, we had the amazing opportunity to attend a Community Learning Exchange on community journalism, hosted by Clydesider Community Newsroom and Greater Govanhill Community Magazine.
The morning began with a presentation from Clydesider Community Newsroom’s founder Amanda Eleftheriades-Sherry, who introduced us all to the values and mission of Clydesider Creative CIC. This year, they celebrate 10 years of the publication of Clydesider, a free, quarterly publication based out of West Dunbartonshire. Clydesider platforms inspirational stories and people to reintroduce West Dunbartonshire as a community that goes beyond statistics and sensationalised news headlines.
Beyond print, Clydesider Creative CIC also share their work on the Clydesider TV YouTube channel. Launched only last year, Clydesider TV is a clear demonstration of when passion, skill and community strike gold and make magic. Alongside producing high-quality series, such as ‘Take a minute: Local Heritage‘ and ‘Mushroom Spotting with Harvey‘, Clydesider Creative frequently run filmmaking workshops for their volunteers and the public – making their content not only accessible to consume, but also to be involved in the creation of. Representation and engagement are entrenched at every step of the process, resulting in a diverse and engaging range of content.
During our morning session, we were tasked with pitching what we thought may be an engaging topic or story from our work to discuss in more detail with the wider group, which resulted in some great shared learning and collage-making! While my own artistic skills may have been limited, it provided a fun opportunity to get to know the other delegates and their work in a creative and engaging format – which is clearly what Clydesider Creative are all about.
See below for the poster created by Aimee’s group, on her research interest in feminine leadership styles.
Shortly following this session, we headed over to Govanhill to the Greater Govanhill Community Newsroom, where we enjoyed a very tasty lunch supplied by MILK, a local social enterprise. Alongside lunch, we heard from Rhiannon J Davies, founder of Greater Govanhill.
Greater Govanhill CIC was created online in 2020, during COVID, to challenge the negative rhetoric surrounding the area, much like the Clydesider. Since 2020, it has grown into a free, bi-monthly publication, featuring local journalists, photographers and illustrators. They also have an online version available, a community noticeboard and a radio show!
Throughout Rhiannon’s presentation, one thing became abundantly clear – Greater Govanhill is not possible without the dedicated and intentional input of the community. The Community Newsroom is a bright, friendly space that residents are welcomed into with their experiences, stories, and questions, all with one aim – serving the Govanhill community with solutions-focused journalism.
After lunch, we were treated to a whistle-stop tour of Govanhill, where we visited the famous Govanhill Baths, the Govanhill Library and even had the chance to pop into Radio Buena Vida, an independent internet community radio station running live from Café Buena Vida bar.
One clear value shared by both hosts of this session was the importance of an equal, dignified exchange between journalists and their subjects, made even more possible when they are one and the same. Community journalism, at its heart, stands against the extraction of stories for the sake of division, or clicks. It is about providing representation, both in the process and the result.
Many are quick to underestimate the creativity, skills and passion of the communities on display in these magazines, based on sensationalised narratives pushed by those in cities, and even countries, removed from them. These organisations give that narrative back into the hands of their communities.
The message from Govanhill and West Dunbartonshire is clear – don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t judge a community by its headlines. At least very least, not the ones not written by them.
