I would like to appeal to those on this list to join-in a debate
currently underway for the legalisation of community-radio in India.
This campaign has been on since the mid-nineties, when the Supreme Court
of India gave its landmark judgement saying that the airwaves are public
property and should be listening to a diversity of voices. If interested
in knowing more, kindly check up the archives below, or join the mailing
list at the URL alongside:
___
cr-india mailing list
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india
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| Frederick Noronha, Freelance Journalist
| Goa India 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783
|
| Email fred at bytesforall.org
| Writing with a difference
| ... on what makes *the* difference
| http://www.bytesforall.org
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CHECK OUT USENET http://www.algebra.com/~scig/approved/threads.html
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Regards from Goa,
FN
http://www.creativevisions.org/videovols.htm#uptotop
Video Volunteers
Putting video into the hands of grassroots activists who are leading the
fight against poverty.
VIDEO VOLUNTEERS is a new program dedicated to spreading the use of
video as a tool to alleviate poverty in the developing world. Volunteer
filmmakers join non-governmental organizations (NGOs), initially in
India, for two months to write, shoot and edit one short film for the
NGO. They also train the NGO staff to make their own small videos and
to use video to give a voice to the poor. Through the Video Volunteers
Program, NGOs have a powerful tool for promoting their work and
spreading their messages.
THE TIME IS RIGHT
In the 1990's, a World Bank survey asked thousands of the poorest of the
poor to identify the biggest hurdle to their advancement. Above even
food and shelter, the number one problem cited was access to a voice.
The Video Volunteers project is about giving a voice to the voiceless,
and to the people who fight for them.
Thanks to inexpensive video cameras and computer editing, the cost of
producing videos is finally within the reach of the grassroots. For
NGOs, videos can be a great addition to an education program and are an
effective tool for policy action and awareness raising in the media.
NGOs can also now start incorporating the video camera into their daily
work. We teach them to use video for effective long-term project
documentation. In addition to our documentary training, we will also
teach them to edit simple sequences together quickly for promotional
material, for example, or to stream personal testimonials from the
community on the web.
EMPOWERING PEOPLE
Thanks to new digital technologies, anyone can make a film--you may not
be able to write, but you can see and you can talk, and that means you
can make your own video.
In group brainstorming sessions, members of the community decide what
messages the film will deliver, who the main characters should be and
how the film will develop. Participants in the program are encouraged
to get involved in all aspects of the filmmaking process, from the
shooting to the interviewing to the editing. Why? Because if it's a
film to educate the community in health issues, the community knows best
what will resonate with its own people. If the intended audience is TV
viewers a world away, the poor have a right to tell their own stories,
and not be spoken for.
DISTRIBUTION
The goal of Video Volunteers is to help NGOs communicate better, and
also to share vital information both within and beyond their local
communities. The videos will be streamed on One World TV, the leading
internet television station, which will become a hub for those using
video in poverty alleviation.
If the NGO desires, we will help distribute VHS copies of the videos to
other organizations along with educational or other support materials.
CURRENT VIDEO VOLUNTEER PROJECTS
In autumn 2003, Video Volunteers successfully piloted the program at the
NGOs of two Indian Ashoka Fellows (see www.ashoka.org .) VV made one
promotional film for Akanksha, the Bombay slum children's supplementary
education program. They also made an advocacy film for I-CARD, an
Assamese NGO working to strengthen the cultural identity of the Mising
tribe who live along the banks of the Brahmaputra. I-CARD was given
video training and is now working on its own productions.
CORE MEMBERS:
Jessica Mayberry (Program Coordinator) - Jessica Mayberry was awarded a
Fellowship by the American India Foundation in 2002 and spent nine
months making films and conducting video trainings at the Self Employed
Women's Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad. She completed a 30-minute film
on women-led initiatives to combat drought, and shot and wrote a second
film about the
