"Within international development, strengthening the voice of citizens living in poverty is recognised as vital to reducing inequity. In support of such endeavors, participatory video (PV) is an increasingly utilised communicative method that can stimulate community engagement and amplify the voice
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of groups often excluded from decision-making spaces. However, implementing PV processes specifically within an international development context is an immensely complex proposal. Practitioners must take into consideration the different ways institutions may understand the use of participatory video for raising citizen voice; and how therefore the practice may be influenced, co-opted or even devalued by these institutional assumptions. To this end, this article interrogates how global PV practitioners express tension in their work. Analysis of their descriptions suggests six influential views on PV practice with the potential to diminish the value of voice from the margins." (Abstract)
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"This toolkit is for organisations planning to use 'participatory video and the most significant change' (PVMSC) to evaluate their social change projects. Part one gives an overview of the key stages and things to consider when preparing for a PVMSC process and includes perspectives and feedback fro
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m partners and participants. Part two is a guide for facilitators as they carry out the games and exercises and includes case studies drawn from 10 years of InsightShare’s experience in a variety of contexts and countries." (Back cover)
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"This paper draws on the experience of conducting participatory video in the Rift Valley of Kenya after the 2007–2008 post-election crisis, when the country underwent a period of intense ethnic violence. By linking development communication to conflict transformation theory, this article offers a
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framework that highlights the impact that communication for social change can have in post-conflict settings through the use of participatory media. It shows how this type of media productions can contribute to re-establishing relationships and creating a shared understanding of the conflict, while building the view of an interconnected future among opposing groups. In this case study, I illustrate how a collection of participatory videos became a peacebuilding tool for the youth in the Rift Valley. Through the information gathered from the interviews with young victims and perpetrators of the Kenya Post-election Violence, I discuss how both the filming and the screening of these films have opened a dialogue between different groups and contributed to processes of social change." (Abstract)
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"Vietnam thrives on a rich tapestry of stories across generations; personal and collective stories that form precious threads in the fabric of a diverse nation of more than 90 million people. There are valuable stories waiting to be told by Cham fisherwomen and men living in An Giang; by Hanoi stree
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t cleaners living with disabilities; by farmers growing cassava in the Quang Tri highlands. Such stories not only help us understand the diversity of this dynamic country, but can also inform important development decisions that impact the people whose stories most need to be heard [...] CARE believes that a vibrant, diverse society becomes stronger when everyone can equally contribute their voice to decisions that impact them. This is why CARE is using Community Digital Storytelling (CDST); an innovative participatory development approach that enables people to gain knowledge, build their confidence and share their concerns with others who can address them. CDST builds on the full potential of people often unheard; strengthening the wider society in the process. Through Community Digital Storytelling, community members collectively create and share stories in their own language using audio, photos and music. The resulting photo-videos are often 3-5 minutes long and in the local language. These stories are driven by the community members themselves who develop the content and decide what photos best represent the narratives they want to tell." (Page 3)
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"Sheathed in the glamour of filmmaking and technical innovation, participatory video (PV) is often evangelised as a communication for development methodology that intrinsically fosters transformative social and political change. Such celebratory notions, however, can obscure the complexity facing pa
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rticipatory video practice in achieving significant response to the inequities PV participants face. In reply, I offer the principles of representation, recognition and response as a potential pathway for more meaningful citizen engagement and action. Doing so challenges the idea that using PV primarily to help people on the margins represent their concerns through film is enough to shift deep-rooted inequities of power. Rather, my argument suggests that participatory video approaches aimed at raising citizen voice require a broader framing of practice: one that positions key decision-makers watching the films to both value marginalised voice, and responsively listen." (Abstract)
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"This study contributes to the field of films for social change by exploring the production process of participatory film-making for social change, whereby explicit claims of community empowerment, participation and social change are the very justification of the production. To do so, it investigate
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s the definitions and production processes of community art, participatory video and mediated participation. Using ‘practice as research’ as a key method of enquiry, we examine three film practices to explore aspects of professionalism. The objective of this examination is to elucidate the process of community member participation in collaboration with film-makers, facilitators and action researchers. People participate in film production processes by contributing to the script, acting, location scouting or any other activity at any stage of the film production. In examining this collaborative process, we focus on dilemmas encountered in relation to integrating participatory qualities and artistic qualities in a work of overall interdisciplinary and professional quality. The material used for the enquiry consists of participatory observations, scripts, films, course materials, audience observations, evaluation forms and in-depth interviews collected over the years in different projects. The analysis of the material indicates that the film-makers deal with dilemmas regarding the balance of the film’s participatory and artistic qualities and the production process. The expectations of the film-making community regarding the process, the resulting film and the related audience influence the balance between the participatory quality of the process and the artistic quality of the film. Finding a balance between participatory quality and artistic quality is a challenge, and in practice the stakeholders involved experience tensions in a continuous process of negotiation. This article demonstrates the tensions and illustrates the continuous process of negotiation between the (roles of) film-makers, facilitators, action researchers and community members." (Abstract)
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"Our project used video as a tool for enabling two Indigenous Mapuche communities in Chile, and particularly their youth, to approach and analyze local development issues and bring local perspectives to the forefront of debates on biocultural diversity conservation and equitable development. The pro
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ject brought together Canadian and Mapuche research, cultural, and Indigenous organizations using an approach that breaks down disciplinary boundaries and the hierarchies that often separate Western science from Indigenous expertise, while emphasizing co-learning and the co-production and sharing of knowledge. The project had three major activity components: 1) The Mapuche School of Filmmaking and Communication offered intensive training in digital filmmaking to Mapuche youth. This training created a space for youth to explore and analyze the challenges faced by their communities, providing them the skills to represent these through short films that meet high technical and artistic standards. Youth became knowledge collectors, interpreters, and communicators, appropriating new ICTs while rooting their films in Indigenous ways of knowing and communicating, such as storytelling and conversation with Elders. The films produced are compiled as an educational tool for the promotion of biocultural diversity. 2) Collaborative research about territory, carried out by Mapuche researchers in coordination with the Canadian team, aims at restructuring existing knowledge about the geographical, social, and cultural elements of the Lake Budi territory. Information shared by traditional knowledge holders is systematized in audiovisual and written formats. 3) Indigenous youth from Chile and Québec shared videos through an online platform, creating new knowledge through co-learning, analysis of shared challenges, and intercultural exchange." (Abstract)
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"By bringing together literatures of Communication for Development and Conflict Transformation, this paper provides a theoretical illustration of the impact of participatory video as a tool for overcoming hostility among groups, as well as for healing and re-connecting communities that have endured
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loss and suffering as a consequence of civil war and inter-communal violence. This is accompanied by a number of practical experiences of projects implemented by organizations on the ground. This type of scenario, often characterized by a lack of dialogue among groups, has been recognized to be fertile ground for the setting up of community media, where people are given the means for self-expression. In particular, video productions created through participatory methodology can be effective tools for dealing with the hostility and grief that linger after a civil war, as they provide those channels of communication that are needed for effective development interventions aimed at community healing." (Abstract)
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"This screening guide has been written to provide ideas and inspiration for anyone organising community screenings as part of a participatory video process. It includes advice on planning and delivering an effective screening, practical suggestions for logistics and technical considerations, facilit
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ator tips, checklists, and a range of short case studies facilitator tips, checklists, and a range of short case studies from a variety of past projects." (Introduction)
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"During the first half of 2013, the video4change Network worked with a small team of researchers to investigate and identify the opportunities, needs, challenges and barriers for measuring the impact of Video for Change initiatives. The primary goal of this research was to assess whether support was
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needed to evaluate the impact of Video for Change initiatives and to identify impact evaluation experiences and success stories. This research process involved two core research activities: 1. A preliminary literature review was carried out to assess available literature relating to Video for Change and the measurement of impact. A draft literature review report was created and the video4change Network was invited to comment and discuss this literature review and take part in a follow-up Google Hangout discussion. 2. A series of interviews with Video for Change practitioners and organisations (8) and Video for Change project funders (2) were carried out and analysed. [...] In carrying out this preliminary literature review and interviews, we found that there were no comprehensive books, videos, reports or compendiums that detailed the historical development of video use for social change and nor did we locate an agreed, commonly used definition of what Video for Change is or means. We were also unable to identify any widely shared perspectives on how to monitor and evaluate the impact of Video for Change initiatives; indeed, tracing the historical development of Video for Change evaluation approaches, processes and practices was complicated, messy and far more difficult and complex than we might have imagined. We found that the video4change Network organisations that we interviewed all agreed that they wanted better and shared structures to help them conceive of and undertake impact evaluation, as well as to provide training/support for it. There was also a shared desire to learn from the evaluation experiences of others and to share experiences about designing for and understanding impact." (Page 1)
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"Communicators who work with photography and video in the development context know the power visuals can have in bearing witness to the reality people living in poverty face. When contextualized, visuals can transcend distance and create a global dialog around topics in need of deeper understanding
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and action for social change." (Page 25)
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"Gubrium and Harper describe how visual and digital methodologies can contribute to a participatory, public-engaged ethnography. These methods can change the traditional relationship between academic researchers and the community, building one that is more accessible, inclusive, and visually appeali
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ng, and one that encourages community members to reflect and engage in issues in their own communities. The authors describe how to use photovoice, film and video, digital storytelling, GIS, digital archives and exhibits in participatory contexts, and include numerous case studies demonstrating their utility around the world." (Publisher description)
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"In 2011 five UK-based development agencies were given a unique opportunity to pilot the use of participatory video with farmers in six sub-Saharan countries, through small supplementary grants awarded by Comic Relief. The UK-based funder Comic Relief recognises that the impacts of climate change th
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reaten to undermine their grants portfolio. As part of their response, they initiated the participatory video programme to enable those grantees working on climate change related issues, and in receipt of grants to support these activities, to apply for a participatory video project to be delivered by InsightShare. This final programme report aims to present an overview of these six participatory video projects undertaken between January and August 2012. It represents a synthesis of the detailed narrative reports produced by InsightShare’s facilitators, with additional content drawn from conversations with key staff from local partners, UK agencies and the facilitators themselves. In addition it presents conclusions and recommendations drawn from an overview of the collated information." (Introduction)
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"In the field of citizen media research, considerably less attention has been paid to countries other than the US and those in Western Europe. This article is a case study that focuses on citizen media in Beijing – specifically, the Dazhalan [participatory video] project. Combining in-depth interv
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iews and textual analysis, the article demonstrates the uniqueness of citizen media under China’s state-party media system. The article also suggests that it was the collaboration among ordinary citizens, professionals and journalists that made it possible for citizen media to influence the mainstream media frame-building process." (Abstract)
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