November 28, 2005

PROJECTS: Video Volunteers

Accelerating Social Change through Video

In 1999 the World Bank asked 60,000 people living on less than a dollar a day to identify the biggest hurdle to their advancement. It wasn't food, shelter or health care. It was access to a voice. By empowering peoplde to tell their stories, video gives a voice to the voiceless, and to the people who fight for them.

Video Volunteers is a movement of people who believe in the power of media to bring the world closer together and cause people to take action. Working with the Creative Visions Foundation and Drishti Media Collective, Video Volunteers uses the now ubiquitous video camera to accelerate social change at the most basic level: To fix wells, educate children, and fight for social justice and women's rights.

Video Volunteers trains NGOs to set up and run their own sustainable Community Video Units. During an intensive on-site training, NGO staff or community members learn to produce low-cost videos for advocacy, fundraising, education and community awareness efforts. At the end of the project, the NGO has one finished video and the capacity to continue producing videos that make their work more successful.

PROJECT WEBSITE: http://www.videovolunteers.org/

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Chris Schuepp
Young People's Media Network - Coordinator
c/o ECMC (European Centre for Media Competence)
Bergstr. 8 / 11th floor
D-45770 Marl - Germany
 
 
The YPMN is supported by UNICEF and hosted by the ECMC.
 
The opinions and views expressed in this message and/or articles & websites linked to from this message do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies.
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