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Namaskar,

please see the latest two participatory AMURT videos that I facilitated in two AMURT projects in Brasil a few months ago. I would love to hear your feedback!

The films are planned and shot by the participant" of the projects, one is made by a group of six mothers that have their children at the AMURT kindergarden situated in a large favela in the outskirts of Sao Paolo, and the second film is made by a group of charming five year olds in the wonderful AMURT kindergarden in Belo Horizonte!

For those of you who are not familiar with participatory video techniques, it is based on a type of model where participants, often people that have never seen or touched a camera in their whole life- learn and teach each other the basic functions of the camera through fun and creative games and exercises led by a facilitator. The exercises strenghten the dynamic and bond of the group and build trust amongs its members, the degree and depth of course varies depending on the type of group worked with, the culture, as well as the time pressure surrounding the project.

Throughout the duration of the workshop, which can be anything from say 1-10 days, the group together identifies interesting themes for a film or video message, often something that touches them all, plans the story with all its scenes, presentations, interviews etc, and goes out to film it. The important and for some of us may i say outcome-fixated Westerners, controversial thing about PV (participatory video) is that the process is considered as, if not more important than the finished product, and sometimes we in fact end up without any finished film, but the participants have been through a very profound and empowering journey together, and perhaps got some important insights and solutions to their community´s problems. So the process of PV can be a very delicate and therapeutic tool and has been used with for example mental health service users in the UK, while other times it is just great fun, and the participants have a nice memory in the form of a film.

The objective of these AMURT films are that they are to be used on the AMURT website and the individual project's websites to attract interest and volunteers as well as for fundraising. They are showing that AMURT is an NGO that works in a progressive and proutistic way and that we are very commited to working from the grassroots level, empowering the communities in our projects to identify their own problems and act as agents for change. This can be seen in for example the Kekeli Ghana film below and this type of wave can be set into motion through the latest stage of the participatory video process which is to organize large community screenings where the participants show their films and mobilize discussion, critical thinking, action groups and so on. PV has been used to impact policy and government decisions, and even for conflict resolution in small villages in Africa. It's uses are multiple, and as for now I feel I am only just scratching on the surface, but it is a very fun, dynamic and fulfilling thing which I and some other margi friends are hoping to adapt to a fully proutistic model.

Here are the films:

Sao Paolo, Brasil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqaq-vZdo3Q&feature=channel made by mothers that have children in the AMURT creche in one favela of Sao Paolo.

Belo Horizonte, Brasil: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBo-nzj_R2k&feature=channel made by five year olds at the AMURT creche in Belo Horiozonte.
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Also, in case you did not see them already, here are the two AMURT PV films I made in Africa at the end of last year:

Ghana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zColZ3o47wI made by 10 "Kekeli women" who are a bunch of powerful Traditional Birth Attendants and health promoters at the AMURT Mafi Seva Clinic in Ghana eminating shakti :)

Burkina Faso: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ggrP70-S4&feature=channel made by six nomadic women living in one of the remotest places on earth, far out in the sahel of northern burkina faso, in an area where AMURT has maternity health projects amongst other things.

So get the popcorn and those loudspeakers out and enjoy!