Call for Entries: Women's Voices from the Muslim World

Dear Filmmaker,

I am the Director of Festival Operations at Women's Voices Now (WVN), a new
not-for-profit social enterprise based in New York City.

Our Mission is to empower women and give voice to the struggle for civil,
economic, and political rights. We create platforms from which women of all
faiths and backgrounds may speak directly to each other and to an
international audience, and we provide tools with which these voices can be
heard.

I would like to invite you to submit any relevant films you have made to our
first project, Women's Voices from the Muslim World: A Short-Film Festival. The
festival is open to all filmmakers regardless of gender or background, but
the subject matter is specific to women OF ALL FAITHS living in the Muslim
world, or Muslim women living as minorities around the globe

I have attached our Call for Submissions for your reference. Please feel
free to pass this along to your network. For further details about WVN or to
submit a film, please visit
WomensVoicesNow.org.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns feel free to contact me. I
look forward to seeing your film in the WVN Festival.

Warm Regards,

--
*Cassandra N. Schaffa
Director of Festival Operations

Women's Voices Now
119 W. 72nd St. #167
New York, NY 10023
Tel: 904-377-0671
Twitter //
Facebook
*

Rama Barhat, WAVE videoblogger from Udaipur in Indian Express July 25

The School LEAVERS

Rama Barhat’s parents too opposed the idea of her taking a gap year. But she didn’t want to be a doctor or a teacher, to live out her parent’s aspirations. Three years ago, after Class X, she walked out of her government school in Udaipur. Armed with a camcorder that she was given as part of a film-making workshop in Goa, she is now trying to capture life and its quirks. Her first film was called Meri Movie and it told her story, how she left school, and how she has changed as a person. She is now pursuing her studies through open schooling, torn between her own rebellion and her parents’ concern for her. She is also making films, her latest is on the only woman auto driver in Udaipur.

Read full article here

Times of India (Chennai) article about WAVE Videoblogger Kalki's new initiative to train transgender women in videography

A Group of People of the Third Gender Wield Handycams to Portray Lives of the Lesser Privileged

A group of people huddle around a laptop in a small room. As the rain drums steadily onto the asbestos roof, transgender (TG) rights activist Kalki Subramaniam takes them through the various stages involved in making a short film.

“So far, other people have been questioning us, telling our struggles and showing the world who we are. Now we want to tell the world who we are through our films,” says Kalki. She is helping eight transgenders tell their stories by equipping them with filmmaking skills. The two-tofive-minute films her students make will be screened at the Alliance Francaise on August 21.

It all began when Kalki received a scholarship from ‘Women Aloud: Videoblogging for Empowerment (WAVE)’ last year. The project is run by filmmakers Sapna Shahani and Angana Jhaveri, and trains one woman from every state to become citizen journalists, to tell video stories about positive changes in their communities to an online audience. “We were given a two-week training to make short films,” says Kalki, the only transwoman to be selected. “The aim was to get women from marginalised sections to tell stories of their community, culture, traditions and problems they face through video blogs,” she adds.

Last year, Kalki made ‘Smile’, a film that records the happy smiles of people of her community. “Shooting videos is my hobby, so I just put together footage I had from 2007 to 2009,” she says. “The lives of transgenders is tough. The world may laugh at us, but we never forget to smile,” says the founder of Sahodari Foundation, which works to empower transgenders.

As part of WAVE, Kalki made five short films, including ‘Sisters on the street: A day in the life of two transgender women’, a five-minute film on the sexual harrassment transgenders face when they go begging.

But Kalki was not content just making her own films. A month ago, she launched Project Kalki, teaching other transgenders how to handle a camera, script and edit on a laptop. “I wanted to pass on my knowledge and empower them as community journalists,” says Kalki, who has masters’ degrees in journalism and mass communication as well as international relations.

Her students — Monal, Sandhiya, Sowndharya, Gomathi, Abinaya, Kanchana, Sowmiya and Thenmozhi — are still working on their films. While Monal is making a film on garbage pickers, Gomathi’s deals with street children. Sandhiya has decided to focus on abandoned old people, Thenmozhi on HIV+ transgenders and Sowndharya on the relationship between transgenders and their families.

“I left home when I was 14 as my family refused to accept me. After years, my mother has finally reconciled to who I am and we live together,” says Sowndharya, whose film is inspired by her own experience. “Many transgenders are abandoned by their families. I want to show real-life situations so that families are sensitised. It can be screened during awareness programmes,” she says.

Gomathi, who works at a community care centre in Perungalathur, was moved by the plight of the children she saw on the train every day while commuting. “They beg, sell water packets and sleep on platforms. I began speaking to them and realised each of them have a story,” says Gomathi. Her film was inspired by two boys whom she saw every day selling water packets. “They told me how their father had left them, another brother had run away, and they were now homeless, taking care of each other.”

Monal says she always wondered why garbage pickers on the streets didn’t do any other work. “Only when I spoke to them I realised that many of them are orphans or runaways. No one employs them as they’re homeless. Even the women cannot find work as domestic help,” she says. Shooting her film was not easy as people were wary of the camera. “Initially, I just left the camera on and let them talk. It made them feel more comfortable,” she says.

Kalki is proud of the progress her class has made so far. “They’re all very interested in movies and eager to learn. With our films we want to show the world that we, like everybody else, also care about old people and street children,” she says.

For more info, visit Project Kalki's blog

A New Pair of Scissors: The Draft Cinematograph Bill 2010

By Anjali Monteiro , K P Jayasankar

The draft Cinematograph Bill, 2010 does not question the simplistic
understanding of the media regarding censorship, nor is there any
recognition of the fact that the modes of production and consumption
of the media are no longer easily amenable to centralised control.
This notion of censorship is inherently elitist, premised on the
superior wisdom of the privileged few, including the members of the
Central Board of Film Certification. There is no clear procedure or
set of norms laid down for the selection of these guardians of decency
and morality, either in the Cinematograph Act of 1952 or in the draft
bill.

3 day workshop on 'Exposure to Communication Design for IT and Media Professionals' at IDC, IIT Bombay

'Expo CD'

3 Day Workshop:
'Communication Design for IT and Media Professionals'

26th - 28th August 2010 from 9.30am - 5.30 pm
at IDC, IIT Bombay
http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/events/expo-cd-2010.html

Introduction:

The course Expo CD is a refresher course on the finer aspects of Communication Design specifically meant for IT and Media Professionals.

The course will inform the participants about the overall aspects of Communication Design for the Digital Media, a deeper understanding of Communication Graphics, Methods for Structuring and Visualisation of Information as well as exposure to creative processes for solving communication problems.

The subjects covered during the workshop include - Typography for Digital Media, Expressive Typography, Typography for the Web, Information Graphics, Information Visualisation, Communication Graphics, Icon Design, Design Process, Design Methodology, Interactive Design, Identity Design, etc..

The course is scheduled to have lecture and discussion sessions in the morning followed by workshops on Communication Design related creative problem solving sessions in the afternoon

Course Contents /Lectures:
The following are the list of topics and speakers during the workshop:

1st Day:
Introduction to Communication Design for IT Professionals
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah

Web Typography (part 1)
Sri Grirish Dalvi

Digital and Expressive Typography
Prof. G V Sreekumar

Web Design (part 2)
Sri Girish Dalvi

Workshop on Digital Typography
Prof. G V Sreekumar and Sri Girish Dalvi

2nd Day:
Gestalt and Information Theory
Prof. U A Athavankar

Information Visualisation and Design
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah

Information Graphics
Prof. G V Sreekumar

Ordering of Information
Prof. Mandar Rane

Workshop on Information Design and Analysis
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah and Dr. Ajanta Sen

3rd Day:
Communication Design and Identity - theory and applications
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah

Human Factors in Communication Design
Prof. N Sadhu

Communications, Scenarios and Storytelling - theory and examples
Prof. Nina Sabnani

Designing Interactive Communication Experiences
Prof. Ravi Poovaiah

Workshop on Design Methods - worldview, affinities and analysis
Dr. Ajanta Sen

Who will benefit?
The workshop is meant for all professionals involved in the communication media and design industry, design consultancy services and marketing of products. This would include designers, engineers and others involved with Visual Design, Web Development, Software Products, Multimedia Products, Digital Media, Product Graphic design, Interface Design and New Media Design. Organisations would particularly benefit from the workshop by sending in a team of professionals to learn collectively from lectures, case studies, new methods and techniques and the theoretical aspects of design principles.

Registration
The early bird course fee for the 3day workshop is Rs. 12,000. For participants from Educational Institutions, the fee is Rs. 6,000. This includes course material, lunch and refreshments for three days. Do register early as the number of participants are limited.

Participants can send a demand draft / cheque payable to "Registrar, IIT Bombay" along with the following details to

ExpoCD Workshop Coordinator
IDC IIT Bombay, Powai
Mumbai- 400 076
Phone:022 2576 7801

Please send the following details along with the registration fees:

Name:

Designation:

Organisation:

Address:


Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:

Do you need accommodation?

Limited accommodation is available at the IIT guest house on a first come first serve basis.

Contact details:

If you have any queries, please contact:
seminar[at]idc.iitb.ac.in

Chetan Bhuj
ExpoCD Workshop,
Industrial Design Centre
IIT Bombay
Powai Mumbai- 400 076, India

Phone: 091-22-2576 7820, 091-22-2576 7801
Fax : 091-22-2576 7803, 091-22-2572 3480

Call for Papers - UN SC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace & Security

A Call for Papers on UN SC Resolution 1325

WILPF invites submission of papers on a broad range of issues around the implementation of 1325, as part of the Women, Peace and Security: From Resolution to Action Geneva High-Level Consultation 15-16 September 2010, Geneva.

Papers can address gender/women in conflict or post-conflict; the implementation of SCR 1325; and/or women in the context of protection, conflict prevention and participation.

Content can be presented as analysis, critiques, good practice, lessons learnt, case studies and/or campaigns.

Papers can also be formatted as articles, case studies or toolkits. Word limit 10,000.

Deadline: 20 August 2010
Please submit to 1325papers@wilpf.ch and provide the following information:

Name:

Institution/Organisation:

Title of Paper:

Country:

Particular themes include (please note compulsory to highlight in submission):
Early warning
Peace-Processes
Participation
Representation/Peace-Processes
Participation
Representation/Participation
Political Participation
Peace Keeping (including Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and Gender Training)
Civil Society Activities/Women Organising for Peace
Human Rights (including Socio-Economic rights/development; Racial and Ethnic Discrimination; International and Regional Instruments and Mechanisms)
Demobilisation, Disarmament, Repatriation, Resettlement and Reintegration (DDRRR)
Small Arms and Light Weapons
Landmines
Violence against women
Displacement
Humanitarian Assistance
Health (including HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health)
UN Implementation
National Implementation (including NAPs)
All relevant registered papers will be published as part of a Literature Repository on http://www.peacewomen.org/.

Please use the following links for more information -
WILPF 1325+10 anniversary

Women, Peace and Security: from Resolution to Action Geneva Consultation

Context
The year 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Building on the commitments of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (adopted at the 4th World Conference on Women), the resolution acknowledged for the first time the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and in peace building, and the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security.

As part of resolution 1325 celebrations, a high level Ministerial debate is due to take place at the Security Council in New York in October. The debate will focus on reviewing the implementation of resolution 1325 and subsequent resolutions, as well as examining ways to further enhance their impact.

To ensure input at this ministerial debate the European Union and Belgium (who will hold the Presidency from July 2010) have planned three events. These events in Brussels, Geneva and New York are focused around the three pillars of the resolution 1325: participation (Brussels), protection (Geneva) and prevention (New York).

Women, Peace and Security: from resolution to action, the Geneva Consultation will be held on the 15 and 16 September 2010 and will focus on protection. It is organized by the Belgium mission and the EU Delegation, in partnership with relevant UN agencies and NGOs. It will be coordinated by UNDP, UNHCR, with the support of UNITAR and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. The Conference will bring together representatives from EU Member States, UN organizations and NGOs, from humanitarian, human rights and security domains.

Just presented WAVE over Skype video to a group of 25 in Jakhama, Nagaland!

Thanks to Babul Gogoi and the Foundation for People's Empowerment for this opportunity to present what WAVE is about. I hope we see many more citizen journalists inspired to report stories from their areas!

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