PARTICIPATORY VIDEO TRAINING
GHANA PILOT
WORKSHOP REPORT
16th November – 2nd December 2004
by Joy Bruce (Animal Research Institute, Tamale) with some additions to Appendix compiled by Chris Lunch (Insight)
Contents page
INTRODUCTION 3
THE WORKSHOP EVALUATION APPENDICES I - INDIVIDUAL TRAINEES’ DAILY DOCUMENTATION II - GROUP EVALUATION OF WORK IN THE TWO VILLAGES III – PARTICIPANTS’ EXPECTATIONS & FEARS IV - DID WE MEET OUR EXPECTATIONS? V - EVALUATION QUESTIONS VI - EVALUATION RESPONSES VII - LIST OF PARTICIPANTS VIII - WORKSHOP TIMETABLE
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INTRODUCTION A Participatory Video Training Workshop was organised for 14 participants from Ghana (10), Nepal (1), South Africa (1) and the Netherlands (2, both part-time) from 16 November to 2 December 2004 at the Radach Memorial Centre in Tamale, Northern Ghana. The workshop, which was facilitated by the UK/France-based NGO Insight, brought together participants from the PROLINNOVA, Compas and CIKOD (Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development) programmes. The workshop was funded on a 50%–50% basis by the PROLINNOVA Secretariat and the Compas International Coordination Unit, both based at ETC Foundation in the Netherlands. The workshop was originally due to have been coordinated by the ACDEP (Association of ChurchBased Development Projects) Secretariat but was sub-let to the Animal Research Institute (ARI) on account of ACDEP’s heavy schedule in November. The workshop was split into three parts (Appendix I): Part I Theory session Part II Fieldwork at Shegu and Kalbeo Part III Editing An evaluation was undertaken at the end of the workshop. This report provides a short description of the workshop. A separate financial report was provided in accordance with the Terms of Reference. THE WORKSHOP Part I Day One The workshop began with a brief introduction by the workshop coordinator, Joy Bruce (ARI). Chesha Wettasinha from ETC Foundation gave a brief introduction to PROLINNOVA. The workshop was then turned over to the facilitator, Chris Lunch of Insight. Participants were introduced to the video camera, with each person having the opportunity to handle the camera, fit the battery, load the camera and so forth. The first game, The Name Game, was played and the results were watched on TV. Participants’ expectations and fears were then documented and the first session of the day ended with another game, The Disappearing Game. The second half of the day was spent doing group work. Participants interviewed and filmed different people and objects, thereby making their first film. Day Two Following a short session on methods of interviewing, the groups conducted interviews using one each of the three methods described. Following this, a teaching session on the Storyboard Method was done and the rest of the day went to developing and using this method to create short films. Day Three The day was set aside to introduce participants to video editing. A video programme installed on two laptops was used and participants had a go at editing the films made the day before. Participants were also introduced to editing from camera directly onto video tape. 3
At the end of Day Three, participants from CECIK (Centre for Cosmovision and Indigenous Knowledge) and CIKOD returned home to await their fieldwork, which took place later in the course. The Fieldwork Two communities had been chosen, one for a PROLINNOVA documentary by the community and the other for CECIK. The “PROLINNOVA” village, Shegu, is found in the Tamale District of the Northern Region and the “CECIK” village is in the Upper East Region of Ghana. At both villages, care was taken to interact with the chief and follow customary greetings for such visits. Thereafter, participants had the opportunity over the three days spent in the village to train individual and groups of farmers to make their own films. Storyboards were constructed and used in filming. In other cases, direct interviews were made and footage taken. At the end of each three -day period, the footage taken in the community was screened in its entirety for the whole community. This was in addition to screening of short clips to various groups of farmers, which had been taking place throughout the three-day filming session. At the end of the three days, participants met to discuss the fieldwork and draw lessons learnt thus far. Editing Participants re-gathered in Tamale for the final phase of the workshop. All footage taken during the fieldwork was catalogued and assessed for editing. Participants had opportunity to edit and create a 30-minute film for each village. The Training Manual Throughout the training session, time was taken to evaluate Participatory Video (PV) exercises and to note down lessons learnt on flipchart sheets. This was later compiled into a training manual by the participants, with extra input from the facilitator. EVALUATION Participants listed their expectations and fears on the first day (Appendix III) and group aims were drawn up before starting work in the two villages. These aims were later used as the basis for group evaluations carried out on completion of the PV facilitation in the two villages (Appendix II). At the end of the training, participants were provided a list of questions upon which to base their final evaluations (Appendix V). A summary of the participants’ answers is provided below. On the whole, participants were satisfied that their expectations determined at the beginning of the workshop had been met (Appendix IV). Participants had acquired a good deal of experience not only in handling the camera but also in teaching others. At the end of the workshop, 20% of the participants felt they had become experts in facilitating the PV process in communities. Another 60% judged their level of expertise on a score of 7–9 out of 10. Participants were, however, not so sure of themselves when it came to editing of films on computer, 50% of participants judging their skill at a score of 5 and below. It must, however, be noted that some participants came to the course without computer skills and this most probably accounted for their low level of confidence with computer editing. Participants were more comfortable editing film onto a VCR recorder. 4
There was the general feeling that PV was an important empowering tool for communities. Participants comments are shown in Box 1. Box 1
The main value of PV: Participants’ views Community participation Community empowerment Help in technology/innovation transfer from community to community Promotes participation by participants For documentation Reality of community is explored which can be used for different purposes Very useful and relevant Important tool for learning and sharing of ideas from different places A means of community development documentation + participation
For PV to benefit communities, participants were of the view that certain criteria need to be met. For example, it is vital that the community participates in all processes. They can then film the issues they consider important. The possibility of using PV as a tool in advocacy was also raised. Most participants were somewhat uncertain about the ability of their organisations to acquire the needed equipment. The need to put out proposals justifying the use of PV was spelt out and provided some hope that PV would be possible within the participating organisations in the near future. Participants were appreciative of the combination of PROLINNOVA participants with Compas participants, judging that this had provided more opportunity to learn from each other. However, some participants did not like the interruption during the fieldwork phase in order to accommodate both villages. The overall rating of the course by participants was 85 out of 100, indicating a very high level of satisfaction with the training. Suggested Improvements Participants made some suggestions for future PV training. Most importantly, participants were of the opinion that more time was needed for training in editing of the films. In addition, with the low number of laptops available (an average of five participants per laptop), there was the general feeling that an average of two participants per laptop would have facilitated the training. Participants attending a PV training workshop should have some basic knowledge in computers. Details of the evaluation are presented in Appendices IV and VI.
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APPENDIX I: INDIVIDUAL TRAINEES’ DAILY DOCUMENTATION Trainees were asked to make a daily record of the PV work carried out in the villages. Two have been included below in order to convey a sense of the PV process in action. 1) Documentation of the PV training in Kalbeo village, Bolgatanga by Sita Tiwari, LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development) , Nepal
Thursday, 25th November:
The day began with a group planning. Our group objectives were worked out and we outlined what the community could and couldn’t expect from our project. These points were going to be discussed later with the villagers Activities in the community Greeting the chief was the beginning of the programme in the village. People were divided into different groups based on the activities they were involved in. Facilitators were assigned to the different groups to help them film their activities. The women group The women were mainly involved in weaving baskets and hats, brewing pito (local beer) and processing rice. Today, the women group wanted to focus on basket weaving. Before starting the film about weaving, the women introduced themselves using the name game. They were very excited to use the camera to film each other. A storyboard was then developed with the women to film the process of making a basket and using different designs. Because the women were not ready with all the materials for filming, it had to be done the next day. So, few minutes were spent on general talks and song with their typical dance. The women expressed great joy and their full contentment when they were shown what they had filmed. They were very much keen to film their skill on weaving baskets. General impressions of the day The women seem to be aware of the importance of their skill and they feel proud of it. It also gives an impression that these women want this to be valued in the future. So, they have been transferring this skill to their children, especially the daughters. The women have realised the importance of income generation through different activities, for example, weaving baskets. They can do it when they have finished other work and they are just relaxing. They are making use of the time which would otherwise be wasted for nothing.
Friday, 26th November:
Today we started with the filming of the weaving process. Weaving is one of the important activities for the women to earn some money. The women use a special kind of grass for weaving baskets. The women had already learnt to use the video camera while doing the name game, so they started filming the process of weaving form the very beginning. The women used the camera for filming the process with little assistance of the facilitators. Richard, one of the PV trainee facilitators, is from a nearby village and was there to help with the translation. They filmed everything themselves. After they had finished filming the weaving, the women started filming the pito-brewing process. 6
General impressions of the day The women were very keen to learn and are using the PV skills well and purposefully. Sometimes they seemed too ambitious, wanting to film too many things.
Saturday, 27th November: The women group continued filming the pito brewing. They were filming
different steps involved in brewing by visiting different houses whose pito was at a different stage in the process. Today I left the women group with Salima and started to film the chief weaving smocks. His daughter was taught how to use the camera. He wanted to show how he was following the tradition and passing it to the new generation by teaching his young boys and wife. The general life of children in the village was also filmed by his daughter. General impression of the day The villagers seemed to be very interested and wanted to film more and more. But for the facilitators, it seemed to be very tiring to continue facilitating and following the community using the camera for three days non-stop. I sometimes felt that too many stories were being filmed. 2) Documentation of the PV training in Kalbeo village by Wim Hiemstra, Compas, Netherlands; & Raymond Tivafire, SADC-UCED (Southern Africa Development Community–University Consortium on Endogenous Development) , South Africa
Description of the first day’s activities, Thursday, 25th November:
a. Greet the chief and explain our objectives, what we can offer and what we can’t offer: b. Explain the objectives to the whole community c. Discussion on which topics to film by the villagers and when; timetable drawn up. Topics proposed by community: dry-season gardening (men), women weaving, pito brewing…. d. Name game by men under tree: they participated actively. At first, one or two were shown the buttons and its functions. Then they could film someone and instruct the next person. Some had difficulty in pressing the small button on the camera, others pushed too hard so that the camera moved. Some did not wait long enough to give the filmed person the signal to speak. e. Everyone narrated his name, short background and expectations. Some also put forward expectations that CECIK could assist them with support. It was interesting to see that they were quick to understand the functions of the camera. The aged could also participate in the process. The young ones showed a lot of enthusiasm to use the camera. f. Name game by women next to manure hill g. Develop storyboard with men for dry-season gardening: tomato, onion, .... In the plenary, it was agreed that we try to give every villager an opportunity to be filmed or to film. However, per topic, there can only be some 4-8 persons engaged (also depends on topic of course – dancing or singing, many are welcome). The chief took part in the whole exercise. The storyboard has six boxes to indicate the scenes to be filmed. In the first scene, they wanted to start with a farmer going to request land from the Kunkoa, the landlord. He will then consult the soothsayer to check the farmer is genuine. The farmer brings kola nuts and tobacco. They follow all the required protocols and seek spiritual guidance. h. The storyboard took about half an hour and then we asked the chief to explain the steps again to the farmers and that was filmed. This can be used as commentary with the filmed material. i. The filming will be done on the next day, as the farmers need some time to prepare matters: arranging bullocks to plough etc. 7
APPENDIX II: GROUP EVALUATION OF WORK IN THE TWO VILLAGES SHEGU VILLAGE Before visiting the village, the team agreed upon five main objectives for the project. After our work there, we assessed whether these had been achieved or not. 1. In what manner have group objectives been met? 4= Excellent, 3= Very good, 2= Fair, 1= Poor. (Ranking exercise) To help community appreciate the importance of PV documentation to be able to show their achievements: 3.3 To show that we want to learn from the villagers: 3.3 To help people express what they really feel and the knowledge they have: 3.8 To increase awareness that individuals are in control of their own destiny: 2 Empower our communities: 3.1 2. What have we achieved through our work in the village? Created awareness on the use & benefits of video documentation Enabled the community to document their innovations Developed confidence & skill among the farmers to use camera We got a general documentation on Shegu village I have gained knowledge and experience of how natural resources are used Made good relationships with villagers, our methods showed clearly that we respected and trusted them Enabled the community to express themselves to visitors without fear Empowered community to use PV as a communication and lobbying tool They have realised that they have something important to share with other people (indigenous knowledge) 3. Things to remember & how to improve An introduction about our intended PV programme should be made to the community a week or so in advance of starting work, if possible. Synchronise the aims of the community and facilitators before the actual training Better means of playing back footage in the community is needed, e.g. speakers, maybe a projector for the final community screening Films from outside should also be shared Present your aims clearly and continuously to any new participant you work with. Important to be clear about the project’s limitations as well as its objectives Find out about cultural norms before you start working Always let them lead you Show the whole film to the community and give at least one copy to each main division within the community. This can be relatively un-edited. Next time a training is carried out, make sure local partners have the capacity to continue showing the created video in the village Aim for storyboard to contain at least one scene of entertainment Facilitator must be sure cultural moments are also filmed to provide light relief between topics 8
KALBEO VILLAGE Group objectives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. To film an African example of how natural, social and spiritual world is intertwined. To get interest of communities in PV. To give them a chance to express themselves freely. To build trust among villagers and the facilitators. To increase their interest in traditional practices. To make the community realise that their local knowledge is important.
What have we achieved through our work in the village? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. We gave the community the opportunity to prioritise their needs. PV work revitalised traditional practices, norms and values. We had enough time for all activities. Opportunity for all community members to be in control of the whole process. Very successful in working with women. PV went well without technical problems. Protocol was well observed. It was good that we shared the PV footage with the community and gained their approval. Trainees improved their PV skills. Very good insight into the culture of the community. Women increased self confidence. We carried out all our work using local dialect. Good relationships developed between community and the facilitators. Community really enjoyed the playback of the PV. Work has strengthened relationship between the community and CECIK.
Things to remember & how to improve 1. Train participants to use freehand filming. 2. Poor planning and coordination in terms of informing the community we were coming and asking them to prepare content. 3. Next time, formulate clear statement for villagers about how they will be able to use PV and what Compas is about, to give them time to prepare. 4. More time for training more participants for quality filming. 5. Be sure not to let one person in the community dominate the camera or the PV process at any time. 6. The team visited the community at the right time (e.g. post-harvest time). 7. When workshops lasts a long time, provisions should be made for local refreshments to share among participants and facilitators.
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APPENDIX III: PARTICIPANTS’ EXPECTATIONS & FEARS
Expectations
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. To get a good knowledge of filming/camera use for documentation To acquire more experience To get good contacts for future support in audio-visual documentation To assess how effective PV is in documenting of communities’ experiences (by the people themselves). The organisation sees the need to acquire equipment to continue PV activities To acquire the skills/methodologies to continue PV work in the community To gain the skills of editing for different audiences To be able to encourage/assist the community to do effective PV work on their own To know more about PROLINNOVA To empower the communities we work with How to use PV as a participatory tool To see how feasible PV is as a communication tool for PROLINNOVA To make people more confident in using the camera To learn how different organisations are working with communities
Fears
1. Sharing expensive equipment with others 2. That trainees will be overwhelmed with information, stopping them from applying the methods learnt 3. What next after the workshop? 4. Will all the participants adopt these new skills within their organisations? 5. Will I have enough skills to be able on my own? 6. Will all my expectations be met? 7. Energisers? Will Chris keep us awake? 8. How will we get the equipment? 9. Equipment costs 10. That review/evaluation of this process will be too late 11. Is PV sustainable? 12. Lack of equipment will make it difficult to sustain skills 13. How will it be in the community?
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APPENDIX IV: DID WE MEET OUR EXPECTATIONS?
EXPECTATION a. Good knowledge of filming and camera use b. Acquired more experience c. Assess effectiveness of PV in documenting community experiences by farmers d. Need to acquire equipment to continue PV activities e. Acquire skills to continue PV work in communities f. Need to gain skills of editing for different audiences g. To assist communities to do PV work on their own h. To know more about PROLINNOVA i. To empower the communities we work with j. How to use PV as a participatory tool k. To assess how feasible PV is as a communication tool for PROLINNOVA l. To make people feel confident in using the camera m. To learn how different organisations are working with communities n. To learn local customs of working with and greeting women Participants’ cumulative score over 100 80 70 79 60 80 66 82 68 75 79 74 85 72 63
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APPENDIX V: EVALUATION QUESTIONS I. PV training workshop
1. Did we reach the expectations? Please rate 1 (not really) – 10 (we couldn’t do better) and write short explanation to your rating (later copy on card) 2. Are you able now to facilitate a PV process in communities? Rate 1 (no) – 10 (I’m an expert) 3. Having participated in this training, what do you see as the main steps in making a PV and indicate which steps were problematic and how you have overcome them? 4. Are you able to edit a PV film on computer? Rate 1 (no) – 10 (I’m an expert). 5. Are you able to edit a PV film on a VCR recorder? Rate 1 (no) – 10 (I’m an expert) 6. What was missing in the PV training? 7. How would you rate the training? Please rate 1 (useless) – 10 (excellent) and write explanation 8. What suggestions do you have for a next PV training? 9. How was the combination of trainees from PROLINNOVA and Compas in this training? II. Use of PV 10. 11. 12. 13. What do you see as the main value of PV? What are critical issues in using PV? What are criteria for a good PV facilitator? What are criteria to make PV a good tool for empowering community members?
For Question 10 “Critical issues” could include technical feasibility, ethics of using video, (local) translation, finding focus / objective of the PV, working within or outside programme mandate, editing skills, how will the PV empower the community, wider reach: how to go beyond an individual or group dominating PV, others issues. III. Follow-up Proposal: Please write a short follow up proposal addressing the following questions: Name & Organisation: 1. How do you foresee your organization using PV: within PROLINNOVA or within Compas programme, within other programmes of your organisation? Include a specific PV project you could carry out in near future, include activities, time frame, challenges you expect to face, limiting factors. 2. What is needed to have PV being continued in Ghana? Do you foresee forms of cooperation among PROLINNOVA partners and among Compas partners? What about cooperation between PROLINNOVA partners and Compas partners? Think of: equipment sharing, future workshops, sharing of films, etc. 3. Do you see forms of exchange possible also with PROLINNOVA and Compas partners in other countries, e.g. Nepal and South Africa? What is needed to enable that sharing? 4. Any other relevant topic you would like to share to enable you to continue with PV. Please write your proposal Wednesday on the computer in the hall.
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APPENDIX VI: EVALUATION RESPONSES What suggestions do you have for a next PV training? More time for editing – Provision of more computers The PV should be planned for in advance Next time the workshop should be more than two weeks, it should be about four weeks The next training must involve more time in order not to rush on things or have two facilitators At least two participants to one laptop or PC during editing Participants with less computer knowledge should be trained before PV training Training manual and hand-outs for next time More translators needed Pinnacle studio manual for each participant Not good to divide the group for fieldwork; this created an interruption in the course
How was combination of trainees from PROLINNOVA + Compas An evaluation of 8.7 was given (on a scale of 1-10; 1= bad, it was confusing; 10 = excellent, we learnt a lot from each other ) What are critical issues? Good facilitations needs knowledge of target communities The accessibility of equipment and even electrical power in the remote communities Translation is very important, it should be done well during the editing phase Need someone on team who knows local language How to get hold of the necessary equipment Need sufficient knowledge of how to use the equipment Need to have staff for editing Must value the peoples’ knowledge.
What are criteria for a good PV facilitator ? - Ability to use participatory tools, e.g., rights-based approach, PRA, etc - Sociable, appreciates constructive mistakes, commitment, flexible, patience - Computer literate - Good knowledge and skills in the use of PV equipment - Good knowledge on the topic at stake. - Good knowledge on all steps of PV - Knowledge on handling a camera and IT - Able to make participants feel comfortable and confident What are the criteria to make PV a tool to empower communities? Must involve the communities in all the processes Work to identify priority needs of the target group, let them participate fully in the PV process For case study It should focus on issues and activities that can be shown to policymakers or the wider society, so they will learn from the villagers or will come to their aid Let the people use the camera to bring out their critical issues 13
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The issues documented should be critical to their livelihood Provision of equipments for facilitators to be able to continue PV work in the future
What was missing in the PV training? Name tags at the beginning Need for more PC/Laptops for editing Training time short Editing time short Proper organisation of communities by partners Extra (beside training content) activities Practical editing with community
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APPENDIX VII: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Mr Asamoa William Menako, Programme Officer, CIKOD (Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development), Ghana Mr Raymond Tivafire, Field Officer, SADC-UCED (Southern Africa Development Community – University Consortium on Endogenous Development), South Africa Ms Sita Tiwari LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development), Nepal Mr Robert Kwasi Owusu CSIR-SARI (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research–Savanna Agriculture Research Institute), Ghana Ms Salima Yahaya, Mr Richard Aniah, Mr Samuel Aduko CECIK (Centre for Cosmovision and Indigenous Knowledge), Ghana Mr Ben Kusi Appiab, IPM/Farmer Field School trainer, GOAN (Ghana Organic Agriculture Network), Ghana Mr Kwarteng Amanin Enock, Accounts clerk for farmers groups, ABOFAP (Abrono Organic Farming Project), Ghana Ms Chesha Wettasinha PROLINNOVA International Support Team, ETC Foundation, Netherlands Ms Joy Bruce, Animal Researcher, Animal Research Institute (ARI), Ghana Ms Marian and Mr Anthony Tawiah (father), Editing and technical support team, Ghana Wim Hiemstra, Compas, ETC Foundation, Netherlands
POB MD 68, Accra, Ghana Tel: 021 518045 Email: cikod2000@yahoo.co.uk c/o: Vaal University of Technology, Private Bag, x021 Vanderbijl Park, 1900 Republic of South Africa Tel: +27 16950 9700/9509141 Email: mwadiwa@vut.ac.za POB 324, Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal Email: stiwari@libird.org POB 52, Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana Tel: +233 71 23197 Email: rokowusu@yahoo.com Box 607, Bolgatanga, Northern Region, Ghana Tel: +233 72 23500 Email: cecik@africaonline.com.gh POB 6342, Kumasi, Middle Belt, Ghana Tel: +233 51 20954 Email: goan@wwwplus.com Techiman, Bia, Southern Region, Ghana Tel c/o: + 233 244 767695 Email: nadams@hotmail.ro POB 64, NL-3830 AB Leusden, Netherlands Tel: +31 33 4326000 Email: c.wettasinha@etcnl.nl POB 52, Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana Tel: +233 244 606225 Email: jpbruce@africaonline.co.gh Tamale, Northern Region, Ghana Tel: +233 244 26565 Mobile: 027 76 13006 POB 64, NL-3830 AB Leusden, Netherlands Tel: +31 33 4326000 Email:w.hiemstra@etcnl.nl
Chris Lunch, PV Trainer, Insight, France
Les Illes, F–11220 Montlaur, France Tel: +33 468 249627 Email: clunch@insightshare.org
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APPENDIX VIII: WORKSHOP TIMETABLE Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Date 15-11 16-11 17-11 18-11 19-11 20-11 21-11 22-11 23-11 24-11 25-11 26-11 27-11 28-11 29-11 30-11 1-12 2-12 3-12 Activity Arrival in Ouagadougou (for external participants) Arrival in Tamale + final logistics Training workshop Day 1 Training workshop Day 2 Training workshop Day 3 Filming at Shegu Day 1 SUNDAY Filming at Shegu Day 2 Filming at Shegu Day 3 Travel to Kalbeon Filming at Kalbeon Day 1 Filming at Kalbeon Day 2 Filming at Kalbeon Day 3 SUNDAY Return to Tamale Evaluation and editing Finalise editing Burning CDs and return to Ouagadougou Depart from Ouagadougou Compas X X X X PROLINNOVA X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
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