25th January, 2012
A workshop to create common ground between non-governmental organisations and film makers in order to generate effective and marketable products takes place in Nairobi next week. At the same time, a Participatory Video Festival has been organised with a series of screenings of films produced using this technique.
A total of 15 participants from Africa, Europe and India will be taking part in a workshop, which runs from January 29 to 31 at the Goethe Insitut in Nairobi. Each participant come to the workshop with a project on a specific social issue during which they will be advised and assisted by a team of experts to develop their project in a professional way, enriching it with new media tools, such as participatory video, mobile phone filming, web and cross-platform documentaries.
“It is very important that NGOs learn how to communicate to professionals in the audiovisual field and vice-versa to enable them to make products that can have a social impact on and that communicate to (and possibily entertain) large audiences,” says Angelo Loy, Head of Studies at Esodoc International.
Participatory Video allows participants to use video equipment to be creative and tell their own stories about different issues. Video is used to aid learning and engagement. The process of film making is as important as the film itself, since both can be used as a means to greater participation.
ESoDoc International is a training initiative aimed to support filmmakers, new media professionals and NGO collaborators in the development of social documentary projects suitable for the international markets. It is organised by ZeLIG-School for Documentary, Television and New Media (Italy) in collaboration with AMREF (Kenya/Italy) and Formedia (India). It is financed by the European Union's Media Mundus Programme.
AMREF has been a pioneer in the field of participatory video through its Dagoretti Child in Need Project with the support of AMREF Italy, and also through a Participatory Video Monitoring and Evaluation project funded by AMREF Netherlands.
The participatory video project in Dagoretti began in 2001 following a critical review of the role and means of information on the issue of street children. Participatory Video is strongly interlinked with the rehabilitation process of the children, giving the boys and girls a greater degree of consciousness and self-assuredness. It has also proved to be a very powerful communication tool on sensitive issues within the community, as well as being a documentation tool.
More than 250 street children and other vulnerable children in Dagoretti have been rehabilitated through videography and are now living with their families. The initiative has improved the children’s participation in global and local issues, and created a desire for learning and development. They have gained confidence and self esteem, moulding them into accountable leaders who are able to communicate their perspectives on issues affecting them and their communities.
View the festival's Schedule Scheme, International Participants and Films Synopsis
For more information about ESoDoc International visit http://international.esodoc.org
