IN CAMERA
Wave of EMPOWERMENT
An NGO is getting young Indian women to videoblog about their concerns
Mansi Choksi | TNN
Their heads covered with scarves, their faces motionless and their eyes desperate, a group of women in Srinagar hold out yellowing photographs of their husbands, hoping to gather any information they can from passersby. These ‘half widows’ of Kashmir, whose husbands have gone missing (some forcibly made to disappear in
custody and some kidnapped by terrorist outfits) are the subject of a videoblog by 27-year Lebul Nisa, a human rights lawyer. Through six minutes in the life of 33-yearold Shameema, who last saw her husband ten years ago only a few days after her daughter was born, Nisa highlights the heart-wrenching plight of roughly 8,000 women like her who are left with no closure.
Like Nisa, 30 other women from each state in India upload videoblogs every month
with unique stories, some about issues that need to be addressed and some sunshine tales of empowerment. Behind this initiative is the Women Aloud Videoblogging for Empowerment (WAVE), a unique digital platform for and by semi-urban young women which attempts to promote a culture of citizen journalism. “The idea is to share compelling videos that start conversations and build bridges across global boundaries,’’ says WAVE director Sapna Shahani, who left her job at Berkeley Community Media, a public TV station near San Francisco, to set up WAVE with mentor and filmmaker Angana Jhaveri.
The bilingual videoblogs are not only democratic in representation—they come from all corners of the country—but also creative in content and treatment. While Usha Dewani, a 23-year-old student from Guwahati, tells a simple story about Padma, a Bodo woman working towards encouraging weaving in a society occupied with liquor-making, Ranchi-based freelance journalist Moushumi Basu reports a shocking incident about a village that ganged up to murder a family it believed to be involved in witchcraft. Apoorva Shaligram, a 19-yearold student from Thane, has a creative take on the Marathi delicacy, puran poli—which
she believes is symbolic of the marriageability of a Maharashtrian girl—by challenging two young boys from her community to whip up the dish. Twenty-three-year-old Nyapi Bomjen, who represents the picturesque Papumpare district in Arunachal Pradesh, showcases a playful wedding ceremony of the Galo tribe where the groom’s family is licensed to insult the bride’s side if her party exceeds more than 30 members.
“We hope this new video material from areas as far as Aizawl and Trivandrum will inspire action within the community and also engage individuals and organisations working for development,’’ says Shahani, who gives WAVE members a theme to work with every month, from environment to indigenous arts and crafts. “Members are free to do something outside the theme,’’ she says. “But the videos must be creative because otherwise people will tune out.’’
The foundation of the national network of videobloggers was laid in September 2009 when WAVE won the Digital Media and Learning Competition sponsored by the USbased MacArthur Foundation
and HASTAC and was granted a seed fund for one year. With the American grant and support from Bandra-based NGO Point of View, Shahani bought cameras, tripods and microphones, held an intensive training program for the
30 foot soldiers of WAVE and set up an editing headquarter in Goa. Finding semi-urban women with a genuine interest in empowerment through media was a task by itself. Shahani blasted out emails declaring her intentions to hundreds of institutes and NGOs across the country and finally selected 30 women for an innovative nine-month mentoring programme at a monthly stipend of Rs 3,000. “There were some prerequisites for selection, like having access to internet, being affiliated with an NGO or an educational institution, being college-educated and being English-speaking,’’ she says. “Although a couple of our members record in Hindi and it is
subtitled.’’
The website, which was started in March this year, boasts 679 unique visitors, including people from countries like Russia, UK and South Korea. In addition, the videoblogs are blasted out to more popular sites like YouTube and BlipTv to reach out to more people.
How will WAVE sustain itself after the one-year grant expires? Shahani plans to continue the annual mentorship programme with support from philanthropic foundations and by providing parttime employment to the graduates of her program by running a grass-roots production house on a social entrepreneurship model.
(Watch the videoblogs on www.waveindia.org)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Wave Mumbai event
Getting an opportunity to come to Mumbai to witness the Wave event will certainly go down as one of those memorable moments I will always look to for inspiration. The day had a two-fold joy for me. Firstly, I was getting an opportunity to see the buzy and busy Bombay for kind of the first time. But perhaps, most importantly, it was the realisation that dawned on me of how I was indeed so fortunate to be able to be associated with a national outreach community media program like Wave. Being in the media line myself, it simply meant so much to be involved in an alternative and much freer, uncensored form of expression.
The event in Mumbai was almost like a second phase of the Wave extension meet. Here I met many of the facilitators and resource persons of the training program we had had in December. Felt nice re-bonding with a fellow Wave participant too.
Amidst the fast life in Mumbai, wherein it is so difficult to know a Sunday from a weekday or keep track of routine worries, the run-up to the launch was a one full of lessons and fun, both at the same time.
The technical skills I had learnt earlier, I put into practice as I took position behind the camera to record the program. Looking at the diverse group of people who attended the function, I realised that Wave was indeed making waves in quite a few circles.
Watching from close range what it takes to organise events, manage contingencies like a change in venue at the eleventh hour and how one should act in such situations was an experience in itself.
And then having my video screened in front of a live audience was for me, the icing on the cake. I interacted with many media professionals in an informal setting. Met the video editors who edit our videos, and listened to some of the tips they offered. Acquaintances I met that day became friends.
The event in Mumbai was almost like a second phase of the Wave extension meet. Here I met many of the facilitators and resource persons of the training program we had had in December. Felt nice re-bonding with a fellow Wave participant too.
Amidst the fast life in Mumbai, wherein it is so difficult to know a Sunday from a weekday or keep track of routine worries, the run-up to the launch was a one full of lessons and fun, both at the same time.
The technical skills I had learnt earlier, I put into practice as I took position behind the camera to record the program. Looking at the diverse group of people who attended the function, I realised that Wave was indeed making waves in quite a few circles.
Watching from close range what it takes to organise events, manage contingencies like a change in venue at the eleventh hour and how one should act in such situations was an experience in itself.
And then having my video screened in front of a live audience was for me, the icing on the cake. I interacted with many media professionals in an informal setting. Met the video editors who edit our videos, and listened to some of the tips they offered. Acquaintances I met that day became friends.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Annie Zaidi's account of the WAVE showcase in Bombay on June 5
The evening began with eating! Sapna and other WAVE people were setting up the screen, while Angana and a friend of theirs laid out food and drink on a table. Those of us who'd shown up early began to tuck in.
Then Sapna introduced WAVE and ran us all through a presentation on what it was all about. Several short films were screened - I believe, there was one each to represent each of the girls had participated in the training program and become a video blogger in their own state.
After the screening, there was a discussion. There were several people present - at least thirty or forty, I think - and each one gave his/her own input. Most people just reacted to the films - some praised the effort and some named specific films that stood out in their view. Some people wondered why there wasn't more of the blogger (videographer?) and her persona in the films we saw.
I (Annie) raised the point of blogging itself - as a continuous process and not just uploading a short film now and then - and that the women could be trained to turn into bloggers, apart from just thinking of filming ideas and events.
There was a lot of discussion about the importance of documentation - of cultures and the way our society is changing. There were suggestions about the archival value of such footage and how it could be sold to universities, particularly the schools abroad since they do include video in their libraries. There was also some talk of how news wire services or TV channels could be approached to establish links between the women and a 'distributor' of sorts. However, it was pointed out that most of the women were not really professionals and had day jobs that kept them fairly busy. Nor are their primary concerns necessarily 'newsy'.
An artist suggested that the videos be turned into an art installation. Some of the films' editors were present and they also commented on how the process of editing had been for them. Mostly positive comments, but there was concern that the training seemed to have equipped the women only up to a point and creative skills were not much in evidence.
There was a lot of animated discussion about creativity and story-telling and how the participants needed additional workshopping to come up with fresh ideas and new ways of tackling their subjects, even within the non-fiction format.
Then Sapna introduced WAVE and ran us all through a presentation on what it was all about. Several short films were screened - I believe, there was one each to represent each of the girls had participated in the training program and become a video blogger in their own state.
After the screening, there was a discussion. There were several people present - at least thirty or forty, I think - and each one gave his/her own input. Most people just reacted to the films - some praised the effort and some named specific films that stood out in their view. Some people wondered why there wasn't more of the blogger (videographer?) and her persona in the films we saw.
I (Annie) raised the point of blogging itself - as a continuous process and not just uploading a short film now and then - and that the women could be trained to turn into bloggers, apart from just thinking of filming ideas and events.
There was a lot of discussion about the importance of documentation - of cultures and the way our society is changing. There were suggestions about the archival value of such footage and how it could be sold to universities, particularly the schools abroad since they do include video in their libraries. There was also some talk of how news wire services or TV channels could be approached to establish links between the women and a 'distributor' of sorts. However, it was pointed out that most of the women were not really professionals and had day jobs that kept them fairly busy. Nor are their primary concerns necessarily 'newsy'.
An artist suggested that the videos be turned into an art installation. Some of the films' editors were present and they also commented on how the process of editing had been for them. Mostly positive comments, but there was concern that the training seemed to have equipped the women only up to a point and creative skills were not much in evidence.
There was a lot of animated discussion about creativity and story-telling and how the participants needed additional workshopping to come up with fresh ideas and new ways of tackling their subjects, even within the non-fiction format.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Introducing WAVE in Bombay Saturday June 5!
Dear blog readers,
We would like to invite you for a presentation/ social event for our project - Women Aloud Videoblogging for Empowerment (WAVE) this Saturday in Bandra (Bombay).
Sapna Shahani and Angana Jhaveri will introduce WAVE and screen selected web videos created by the pan-Indian network, followed by a discussion about the program's future. We would like to meet anyone interested in the areas of videoblogging/ alternative media/ citizen journalism/ video education, social entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, technology innovation, etc, so please forward to anyone you think may be interested in attending.
A sampling of the videos we may screen include:
Weaving Dreams -- Padma, a lady of the Bodo community in Assam, changes her community for the better when she started a weaving society, turning away from their previous occupations of liquor-making. Created by Usha Dewani (4 minutes).
Accused of Witchcraft -- A shocking incident reported by Moushumi Basu from Ranchi about a village that ganged up to murder a family they believed to be involved in witchcraft (5 minutes).
Nyida -- Nyapi Bomjen shows us a beautiful wedding ceremony of the Galo tribe in Arunachal Pradesh (5 minutes).
Land Rights for Women Farmers -- Vandana explores why Women Farmers, who do most of the work in farms, don't legally own the land (2.5 minutes)
Corruptgarh -- Moonstar provides creative commentary about a failed 'Dhobi Ghat' policy in Chandigarh, with this humourous, fictional re-enactment (2 minutes).
The Little Ropewalker (Dombari) -- Prutha Soman from Thane juxtaposes international gymnasts with a dombari girl's tightrope-walking technique, posing the question, "Couldn't we encourage traditional talents such as these, instead of shunning them? (2 minutes)"
Aashayein -- Apoorva Shaligram shares the inspiring story of a young social entrepreneur Ramesh Joshi who tutors street kids in Bombay, who live rough lives -- some of whose parents are drug dealers (3 minutes).
WAVE was started last year through an award from the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning competition in the US and is supported by the Bandra-based NGO, Point of View, in India. Please visitwww.waveindia.org to learn more.
Date: Saturday June 5, 2010
Time: 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Place: The HUB
4th Floor, Candelar Building, 26 St. John Baptist Road, Near Mount Mary Steps, Bandra (W), Mumbai
RSVP at info@waveindia.org or call us at 9922509310 (Sapna) as snacks and beverages will be served. Entrance for this event is FREE, please note there are limited spaces available.
Hope you can make it!
We would like to invite you for a presentation/ social event for our project - Women Aloud Videoblogging for Empowerment (WAVE) this Saturday in Bandra (Bombay).
Sapna Shahani and Angana Jhaveri will introduce WAVE and screen selected web videos created by the pan-Indian network, followed by a discussion about the program's future. We would like to meet anyone interested in the areas of videoblogging/ alternative media/ citizen journalism/ video education, social entrepreneurship, women's empowerment, technology innovation, etc, so please forward to anyone you think may be interested in attending.
A sampling of the videos we may screen include:
Weaving Dreams -- Padma, a lady of the Bodo community in Assam, changes her community for the better when she started a weaving society, turning away from their previous occupations of liquor-making. Created by Usha Dewani (4 minutes).
Accused of Witchcraft -- A shocking incident reported by Moushumi Basu from Ranchi about a village that ganged up to murder a family they believed to be involved in witchcraft (5 minutes).
Nyida -- Nyapi Bomjen shows us a beautiful wedding ceremony of the Galo tribe in Arunachal Pradesh (5 minutes).
Land Rights for Women Farmers -- Vandana explores why Women Farmers, who do most of the work in farms, don't legally own the land (2.5 minutes)
Corruptgarh -- Moonstar provides creative commentary about a failed 'Dhobi Ghat' policy in Chandigarh, with this humourous, fictional re-enactment (2 minutes).
The Little Ropewalker (Dombari) -- Prutha Soman from Thane juxtaposes international gymnasts with a dombari girl's tightrope-walking technique, posing the question, "Couldn't we encourage traditional talents such as these, instead of shunning them? (2 minutes)"
Aashayein -- Apoorva Shaligram shares the inspiring story of a young social entrepreneur Ramesh Joshi who tutors street kids in Bombay, who live rough lives -- some of whose parents are drug dealers (3 minutes).
WAVE was started last year through an award from the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning competition in the US and is supported by the Bandra-based NGO, Point of View, in India. Please visitwww.waveindia.org to learn more.
Date: Saturday June 5, 2010
Time: 6:30 - 9:30 PM
Place: The HUB
4th Floor, Candelar Building, 26 St. John Baptist Road, Near Mount Mary Steps, Bandra (W), Mumbai
RSVP at info@waveindia.org or call us at 9922509310 (Sapna) as snacks and beverages will be served. Entrance for this event is FREE, please note there are limited spaces available.
Hope you can make it!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Angana's thoughts on the DML showcase in Washington DC
Hello Wave Team:
Just a quick note to let you know that we are back from the US, and currently in Mumbai preparing for a presentation here on June 5th.
Here are a few highlights from our days in Washington DC:
We stayed in the hotel room all of the first day creating a power point presentation. When we reached the venue the next morning and asked the organizers their plan, they very sweetly said, “Will you go first?” So we did and that was great, as before we knew it we were done!
We spoke about how our project was innovative, described its design of the program, and shared some moments from the training. We introduced them to the diversity of the group, showing some of your pictures and telling them about your backgrounds. We talked about the themes of the videos showing images and guided them through the website. There was so much to say that of course we went over time and had to rush to the end for which we had prepared quotes from what some of you have said about empowerment in your profile videos.
For the rest of the conference we learnt about other winning projects and came out feeling that ours was one of the most interesting and unusual. In fact the funders have described WAVE as a project that has met their gold standard!
This year the DML Competition is partnering with Obama’s initiative in innovations in learning. We had Obama’s Chief Technology Officer a very charismatic Aneesh Chopra come and speak to us about White House policies and initiatives and the importance of our projects in view of these. So it was wonderful to get the big picture and know that our project has landed us pretty much in the forefront of innovation in learning in the Digital Age also envisioned by the Obama Administration.
Angana.
Just a quick note to let you know that we are back from the US, and currently in Mumbai preparing for a presentation here on June 5th.
Here are a few highlights from our days in Washington DC:
We stayed in the hotel room all of the first day creating a power point presentation. When we reached the venue the next morning and asked the organizers their plan, they very sweetly said, “Will you go first?” So we did and that was great, as before we knew it we were done!
We spoke about how our project was innovative, described its design of the program, and shared some moments from the training. We introduced them to the diversity of the group, showing some of your pictures and telling them about your backgrounds. We talked about the themes of the videos showing images and guided them through the website. There was so much to say that of course we went over time and had to rush to the end for which we had prepared quotes from what some of you have said about empowerment in your profile videos.
For the rest of the conference we learnt about other winning projects and came out feeling that ours was one of the most interesting and unusual. In fact the funders have described WAVE as a project that has met their gold standard!
This year the DML Competition is partnering with Obama’s initiative in innovations in learning. We had Obama’s Chief Technology Officer a very charismatic Aneesh Chopra come and speak to us about White House policies and initiatives and the importance of our projects in view of these. So it was wonderful to get the big picture and know that our project has landed us pretty much in the forefront of innovation in learning in the Digital Age also envisioned by the Obama Administration.
Angana.
A video about WAVE that we created for the DML showcase in DC
If you have high speed internet and would like to watch a higher resolution video, click here. Special thanks to RGBA Studios for contributing the animation shots, Tarun Shahani for audio editing and Chaitanya Modak for the rough cut.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
