[p2p-research] Fwd: The Drum Beat 496 - Video for Change

Tue Jun 16 12:51:27 CEST 2009

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: The Drum Beat <drumbeat at comminit.com>
Date: Sat, Jun 13, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Subject: The Drum Beat 496 - Video for Change
To: michelsub2004 at gmail.com

The Drum Beat - Issue 496 - Video for Change
June 15 2009

===

The Drum Beat 496 contains:
* Video HUMAN RIGHTS communication
* Amplifying YOUNG VOICES
* Please VOTE: e-Health development
* Video: A COMMUNITY TOOL
* Video for change TOOLS and TRENDS

===

>From The Communication Initiative Network - where communication and media
are central to social and economic development.

Subscribe to The Drum Beat: http://www.comminit.com/en/user/register
Access this issue online at http://www.comminit.com/en/drum_beat_496.html

Drum Beat Subscribers: 44,097
CI Portal User Sessions, past 12 months: 2,878,946

===

This issue of The Drum Beat looks at the varied ways in which video has been
used as a communication tool to facilitate social change worldwide. The
well-worn adage "seeing is believing", which suggests the important advocacy
role that video can play, is only part of the picture; as some of the
selections below highlight, it is not just the product but also the process
of video production that can have interesting dimensions.

We would love to hear about your experiences with this communication tool,
particularly if you have reflections on how and why the particular
strategies used on worked the way they did. Send your experiences to:
info at comminit.com

===

AMPLIFYING INJUSTICE

1.      Common Agenda, Different Methods
by Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng
This paper examines how video became a vehicle in Uganda for putting a
women's agenda on international negotiating tables. Isis-Women's
International Cross-Cultural Exchange (WICCE) started by using a tape
recorder into which women who had survived armed conflict told their stories
in their own languages and methods, within their own contexts. As this
approach grew, it became apparent that the visual component of storytelling
could have an even greater impact on their audience. "The expressions on the
survivors' face, the tears rolling down their cheeks, the mutilated parts of
their bodies - none of these could be part of their stories...The video
camera became handy at this point." What emerged was the documentary "A
Lingering Pain", which "brought these survivors, their war-torn places of
origin, and their refugee camps to TV and radio. Their pains were no longer
hidden but became topics of discussion by ordinary Ugandans, human rights
activists, as well as the UN [United !
 Nations] Security Council. The unknown conflict became known worldwide.
Many actors influenced policy makers at different levels for legal reforms
to improve the women's conditions....Telling their stories in front of a
camera was in itself empowering for the survivors..."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/214744/307

2.      Seeing is Believing - Global
This is a global film- and web-based human rights initiative that explores
the political and social consequences of handicams and other new information
and communication technologies (ICTs) that are being used by human rights
activists, war crimes investigators, right-wing hate groups, and ordinary
citizens. At the core of this project is a one-hour documentary film called
"Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News", which is
premised on the notion that an important step towards understanding and
curing the world's ills is "bearing witness". The film raises questions such
as: Does the presence of a video camera help save lives or, rather, increase
the danger to those being threatened? What will be the impact of this
proliferation of personal video cameras? How will it affect privacy?
Contact: info at necessaryillusions.ca OR Peter Wintonick wintonick at yahoo.com
OR Katerina Cizek kcizek at yahoo.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/133335

3.      Eradicate Slavery in Brazil Today Campaign
WITNESS is a US-based organisation using video and online technologies in an
attempt to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. On
International Workers Day (May 1) 2007, WITNESS sent an email announcing an
internet-based campaign called "Bound by Promises" designed to raise
awareness and spur action to eradicate slave labour in rural Brazil.
Visitors to a dedicated page on the WITNESS website are presented with
information about the issue of contemporary slavery in Brazil, and given the
tools to communicate to Brazil's President Lula that slave labour must end -
and how. In addition, the 17-minute video "Bound by Promises: Contemporary
Slavery in Rural Brazil" tells the story of men who are taken to isolated
ranches, only to find that they have been lured into debt bondage.
Contact: Tamaryn Nelson Tamaryn_Nelson_of_WITNESS at mail.vresp.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/264172

4.      Live from Second Life: Crisis in Darfur
As part of this initiative, a panel of people discussed and answered
questions about the worsening situation in Darfur, Sudan, and neighbouring
Chad at a live, virtual 3-D event in the online community Second Life. The
programme, which was open to the press and the public on January 9 2007, was
filmed in front of a virtual replica of the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum, which includes an exhibit of photographs depicting the genocide
emergency; the video from this event is being used for outreach by the
museum. This initiative represents what LCMedia calls "the new public
media," which allows viewers to "step through the TV/computer screen" and
into a computer programme to participate in events, and is an example of how
this new medium can be used to educate and create positive social change.
Contact: Bill Lichtenstein contactlcmedia at gmail.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/265517/307

5.      Children's Hope [Criança Esperança] - Brazil
This is an effort to address the rights of street children in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, through video activism. Children's Hope, or Criança
Esperança in Portuguese, is a short documentary designed to give these
children a voice, and to break through what the filmmaker perceives as a
high degree of apathy among the Brazilian population in relation to the
challenges they face. The choice of the video medium can be explained in the
filmmaker's own words: "The more we see short videos online, the more people
will become aware of what is going on. The production doesn't necessarily
have to be expensive and doesn't have to be professionally executed to pass
[on] messages..." Over several weeks, he met and spoke at length with
lawyers and educators, and conducted several interviews with the children.
He regularly visited various Sao Martinho branches as well as 2 children's
orphanages. What emerged was a 3-part video, available on YouTube.
Contact: Sébastien Haizet sebsixte1 at yahoo.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/294233/303

See also these initiatives and reports, reported in previous issues of The
Drum Beat:

* Against the Tide of History Video Advocacy Project - Senegal
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/135240/348

* The Hub for Human Rights Media and Action - Global
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/134495/348

* A Duty To Protect - Justice for Child Soldiers in the DRC
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/135105/348

* Witness to Truth: A Video Report and Recommendations from the Sierra Leone
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/133070/348

* Eyes on Zimbabwe
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/266212/348

EDUCATING AND ENGAGING YOUTH

6.      Video Republic
by Peter Bradwell, Celia Hannon, and Charlie Tims
This document discusses the potential of digital technology and broadband
access as a new realm of public information in Europe - as new space for
debate and expression dominated by young people. Researchers met with young
filmmakers from the United Kingdom, Turkey, Germany, Romania, and Finland
taking part in a project on youth video expression; they also carried out a
series of expert interviews. They found that "[d]ebates about issues as
diverse as identity, climate change, culture and politics are being driven
by the production and exchange of video." Using online video as a medium for
communication, governments are seeking to connect with their populations;
campaigning and charity groups are seeking to reach supporters and change
attitudes; major broadcasters are searching for defining relationships with
young audiences due to their attraction to it; and the European Commission
is promoting intercultural dialogue. The research generated various
recommendations, among wh!
 ich are the following: "The formal education system should draw on the
expertise of arts-based initiatives to unlock the potential of the video
making currently taking place in the informal sphere....A 'virtual
video-making academy' would provide a trusted place for experts to share
tips on how to communicate messages, start online campaigns and get short
films noticed."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/278933/348

7.      Video Games: Why Kids Play and What They Learn
by Jill M. Olthouse
This paper provides an overview of the relationship between video games and
children's motivation and learning. Author Jill M. Olthouse encourages
teachers seeking to understand their paedological value to consider their
appeal as play, reinforcement, social interaction, fantasy, and cognitive
exercise. Olthouse examines each of these elements; for instance, the social
motivations of video games include competition, cooperation, communities,
tribes, and teams. She explores the specific paedagogical elements of games,
detailing the ways in which video games teach metacognition. There is,
Olthouse says, debate about whether video games are teaching children skills
and values that will help them. She concludes that "video games and their
effects cannot be judged as a whole....Instead of asking, 'Are video games
fun and educative?' the questions that should be asked are: 'In what
contexts and with which students are video games fun and educative?', 'To
what extent do players exa!
 mine the values in the video games and question them?' and 'In what
contexts do skills learned in video games transfer to other areas?' These
questions provide a basis for future research into how children relate to
video games."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/290522/307

8.      Kids Speak Out on Election in iReport Videos
The iReport is an online video posting site that has given children and
young people too young to vote in the United States (US) presidential
election a chance to express their political opinions and ideas. It is a
website for user-generated video content made available by the news service
CNN. The experience was extended at one school to participating in
mock-campaigning, voter registrations, and precincts and exit polling. Some
children used the video as an opportunity to make a plea to US voters. One
young person, nearly old enough to vote, filmed himself registering voters.
He also used the video log (vlog) opportunity to record aspects of the
campaign, including the conventions and the debates, and rallied other young
people to speak out through video on the importance of voting.
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/287059/348

9.      Promoting HIV/AIDS Awareness Among Youth - The UNAIDS Collaboration
with Channel V - India
This project was intended to increase awareness of and discussion on
HIV/AIDS and related issues among youth in India and to promote their
practice of safe sex. It involved a collaboration between the Joint United
Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), through the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the private television company Channel V. The
video jockeys (VJs), who underwent sensitisation and training on HIV/AIDS
issues, led road shows at colleges, pubs, cafes and other places frequented
by young people. In addition, the project collaborated with music promotion
company DNA on HIV/AIDS awareness efforts at the sites of their music
concerts. Organisers also developed television spots unified under the theme
of "Let's Talk", which featured young people talking about their lives,
their relationships, and the need to talk about HIV/AIDS openly. Many of the
spots carried the national toll-free number for HIV/AIDS counselling
initiated by the National AIDS Control Or!
 ganisation (NACO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the
phone numbers of HIV/AIDS non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in 6 cities
across the country.
Contact: Dr. Charles Gilks india at unaids.org
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/117200/347

See also:

* Sex, AIDS and Videotape: Video as a Tool in Informing About HIV/AIDS Among
Young People in Rural Mozambique
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/57626/347

* A River Blue Project - Uganda
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/134300

* Shocking the Nation to Action - Zambia
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/116125

===

Please VOTE in our current ICT4D POLL:

In what direction should current e-Health research and technical development
go?

Direction:
* Diagnosing through mobile phones.
* Certifying phone services as coming from authentic health providers.
* Building a menu of types of health providers (e.g., MD, traditional,
clinic, pharmacy) into mobiles.
* Linking remote clinics with specialists.
* Linking communities in "the last mile" with hospital or clinic diagnosis
and care centres.

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/288646/307

RESULTS thus far (June 12):

56%: Linking communities in "the last mile" with hospital or clinic
diagnosis and care centres.
20%: Linking remote clinics with specialists.
18%: Diagnosing through mobile phones.
4%: Building a menu of types of health providers (e.g., MD, traditional,
clinic, pharmacy) into mobiles.
2%: Certifying phone services as coming from authentic health providers.

===

VIDEO: A COMMUNITY PROCESS

10.     Participatory Video: AIDS Support Group - Malawi
In 2005, the United Kingdom-based organisation Insight used participatory
video as a tool for working with an HIV-positive community group in M'deka,
Malawi. Over a 3-day period, a 10-minute video was developed showing the
various activities carried out by the group, their history, and how they
support one another and try to change attitudes in the wider community. One
person quoted here comments, "I think that participatory methodology is
really fantastic and really enhances ownership among the members of the
support group as well as the activities they are conducting. The result is a
fantastic advocacy tool and addresses the issues of stigma and
discrimination, and positive living....I think it will be of great use
especially with new groups, showing that being diagnosed HIV positive is not
a death sentence or a reason to stay behind a closed door". Since making the
film and showing it in their community, the members have developed proposals
to send to donors for funding t!
 heir own advocacy campaigns, for replicating the DVD, and for supporting
other income-generating activities. Distribution of the film has led to
contact and/or meetings between Tichezerane and other HIV community groups,
and the group has sold copies of the film to the Umoyo Network, a national
network of NGOs working with HIV/AIDS issues.
Contact: Chris Lunch clunch at insightshare.org
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/133880/347

11.     Media Matters - India
Media Matters is a registered non-profit trust working in the area of
development communication with a rights-based, participatory, and
process-oriented approach. "We believe groups and communities have the
capacity to bring about and manage change. Communication resources therefore
should support such a process through reflection, exchange of knowledge,
beliefs and experiences, initiating a dialogue that could lead to action. We
strive to design and develop media and communication resources that create
space for voices that are unheard, in local language, sharing of concerns
and aspirations, critical thinking and negotiation." Media Matters has made
documentaries and docu-fiction on a range of issues to capture learnings of
community processes and to bring issues to the fore. The issue-based
documentaries, participatory video projects, and post-screening discussions
and dialogue have explored controversial issues related to children and
rights, gender and participation, rep!
 roductive health as a right, HIV/AIDS and youth, adolescents and life
skills, solid waste management in urban areas, male participation in
reproductive health, and so on.
Contact: mmindia.org at gmail.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/286165

12.     Malawi Children's Village HIV Awareness - Malawi
Through the use of live performance and video production, Malawi Children's
Village (MCV) hopes to equip orphans with artistic skills, while increasing
community understanding of the impact of HIV/AIDS. A key programme approach
involves building the skills of participating orphans to create and
communicate their own stories. In 2003 the childen were involved in their
first video production, "Juma's Story", the story of how one loss to
HIV/AIDS affects an entire community. "Juma's Story" was shown in the 36
villages served by MCV and was made available in village video shops
throughout Malawi. It premiered at the American Embassy in Malawi on World
AIDS Day 2004, with the orphans in attendance. It has also had wide
distribution in the United States as a fundraiser and as an educational
tool. In 2004 70 students participated in a writing of screen plays
competition where a single story was selected. The orphans were taught
technical aspects of video production. The students th!
 en produced "Martha's Story" on their own, including the acting, directing,
filming, editing, and musical production/performance. Production equipment
is available at MCV; the children are working on their next video projects.
Contact: Chakunja Sibale mcv at malawi.net OR Conor Brady bradyco at gmail.com
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/131145/347

13.     Case Study of Africa Women Filmmakers Trust [AWFT]
by Chido E.F. Matewa
"AWFT was launched in 1992 by a group of young Zimbabwean women who were
moved by a desire for a more inclusive and democratic audio-visual
landscape....The founder members were exposed to propaganda mobile films by
the then Ministry of Information during the colonial era...[B]ased on their
experiences, [AWFT founders] looked at ways the same media could be used for
the empowerment of the marginalised rural communities....Survival is a 30
minutes film...[R]ural women who participated in this production did not see
themselves as victims of Structural Adjustment Programme but as survivors.
The video film highlights not their plight but what they are doing to
improve themselves economically....They present themselves in this video as
a breed of women who refuse to bow down to adversity....This process had
helped communities to first look for solutions within their reach. The
process had built a sense of community responsibility among participants.
Because AWFT crew lived with t!
 he communities, they had been integrated as part of them, they were no
longer outsiders....With the collaboration of communities, they had
discovered a technique that would enable women to articulate their voice, a
process that was believed would empower communities..."
http://www.comminit.com/en/node/206592/307