Between 10-14 August I attended the Video Volunteers camp in Goa, India. The camp included training in various media, including video, animation, blogging and on-line activism, as well as panel discussions on community media. It was attended by community video producers, journalists, film makers and activists.
Video Volunteers facilitates the establishment of Community Video Units (CVUs) in marginalised communities in India. The CVUs are staffed by people from these communities. They produce regular video magazines on issues that impact the lives of those living in the communities, and screen these magazines in the communities themselves. Each video is accompanied by a ‘call to action’ on how to address the problem. At present there are around 20 such units in India, with the aim of establishing more, including in other countries. At present VV is developing projects in Brazil.
Video Volunteers are experimenting with different models to achieve sustainability and scalability. The aim is to make the CVUs self sufficient and independent. At present each CVU is partnered by a local NGO, including financial assistance. In up-scaling the CVUs they hope to bring tools and skills to millions of people in poverty so that they can represent their lives – lives that the mainstream media all but ignores. A ‘wire service from the slums of the world‘ as Jessica Mayberry puts it.
To watch examples of the videos produced by the CVUs go to Channel 19.
After the camp I travelled to Mumbai to visit two of the CVUs and their partner NGOs. Apna TV, who work with Akshara, and Hamari Awaaz, who work with Yuva. The CVU producers, consisting mainly of young people, are full of energy and ideas, and have developed considerable competency in making news magazine style videos. Impact appears to vary, much depending on what issues they are trying to tackle. The format seems to work well in challenging corruption or failure to provide infrastructure services, like roads, water and sanitation, by informing people of their rights and providing visual evidence of what is absent. However, changing social practices and attitudes, unsurprisingly, is a longer term affair, though individuals I talked to said video had proved very useful in facilitating dialogue on difficult issues.
Many thanks to Jessica, Stalin, Sapna and Bhawana for making my time with them such a pleasure.
Filed under: Training, Video Tagged: | Asia, India, NGO, research, South Asia
