[artinfo] Video Volunteers... putting video into the hands of activists

[Frederick Noronha (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.

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.

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.

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