Abstract

This casebook shows how video can be used by poor and powerless people to represent themselves and communicate directly with the powers that control the world beyond their village. In an experiment in Vietnam in 1995, a team of NGO workers were trained in the use of video for participatory community development. The team then collaborated with local people to make three programmes about issues which the villagers identified themselves. The process of developing programmes, from research to filming and editing, encouraged the villagers to take a critical approach to their problems. The finished videos were shown to the local authorities and, as a result, new funds were allocated to improve conditions and resolve some of the issues. This book gives a detailed account of the workshop, showing how community-made video can be used locally for the purposes of conflict-resolution and advocacy, and internationally for fund-raising and staff training. The final chapter draws on interviews with villagers and commune leaders to discover their views of the project and its outcomes one year later.