For the past few months, EngageMedia has been working with WITNESS to co-host a gathering of key video for change activists, decision-makers and activists to discuss issues around the work that we do. Specifically, from 2 – 5 June 2012, we will be in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to talk about training issues, the development of toolkits, the effectivity and impact of our work and new trends in video advocacy. This will be followed by a three-day sprint to develop video for change materials / manuals / how-to’s / guides that can be shared between participating organisations and the v4c toolkit that EngageMedia is developing.
Currently, the list of invited and confirmed participants reads like a virtual who’s who in the video activism field. Groups like Video Volunteeers, Organisation for Visual Progression, Digital Democracy, Tactical Technology Collective, Insight Share, Telar Social, KOMAS, Kampung Halaman and the MIT Media Lab are all attending.
This is the first of its kind (and hopefully not the last!). There has never been a gathering of such groups to discuss our common work: the issues that we face, our training strategies, our ideas around the social impact of video activism, and the new trends in this field of work. For me, it will be a time to take stock of what we are doing and how we can do the work more effectively and collectively. I’m looking forward to seeing the differences and commonalities of our approaches to video advocacy, and discussing the areas where specific groups can specialise and where we can work more collaboratively.
We are also organising a public event to maximise the wealth of experience that will be on Yogyakarta in June. We want to be able to meet and greet with local organisations and activists. We will be working with Kampung Halaman to organise this public event.
With WITNESS and in consultation with the confirmed participants, we’ve drafted an agenda that covers the topics we will be discussing on the four-day retreat. Fingers-crossed, the v4c retreat will be interactive, enlightening and fun!
We’ll post updates on the retreat on this blog! So watch this space.
