Communities across Africa are fighting to protect their culture, lands, and resources. But despite their peaceful efforts, they continue to face violence and abuse. Their struggles include abduction, imprisonment, torture, and death.

To document and raise awareness about such realities, and build resilience to such threats some communities have turned to video for change. And although the use of such methodologies has been growing, further strengthening and collaboration are needed to realize its true potential.

El Molo community video team in Lake Turkana, Kenya. Photo by InsightShare

To address this, InsightShare, with the support of EngageMedia, Video Volunteers, and Witness, is hosting the 2019 Video4Change Grassroots Gathering outside CapeTown, South Africa. This October, grassroots communities, African video practitioners, and Video4Change Network trainers and facilitators will work together to:

• Facilitate discussions that build and strengthen alliances, learning from each other’s contexts, experiences, and expertise
• Foster an understanding of human rights, land rights, and climate change as shared issues that are best approached in a collaborative, co-creative way
• Integrate traditional and cultural approaches with Video4Change tools and strategies, combining the best aspects of both to come up with the optimal framework
• Design practical plans to address the impacts of climate change and the environmental crisis

Community researchers from Nepal, Rwanda, Jordan and Bangladesh learning the fundamentals of videography. Photo by EngageMedia

The event intends to support the launch of the Pan-African Living Cultures Alliance (PALCA). An indigenous-led initiative, PALCA aims to holistically address the protection of indigenous natural and cultural resources across Africa using Video4Change approaches such as Participatory Video and the Rights-Based Approach.

The participants will learn from an extensive roster of proven models and methodologies:

• Video Volunteers’ Correspondents Network
• InsightShare’s participatory video model
• WITNESS’ video advocacy and video as evidence
• InformAction and Cartara’s use of community screenings, documenting of Human Rights Abuse, digital security, and digital learning

We will post updates about the event in this space. For inquiries, please contact us or send an email to Nick Lunch [email protected].

The Grassroots Gathering is made possible with the generous support of the Bertha Foundation and Network for Social Change and Synchronicity Earth.