The official unveiling of a bold and promising initiative to lend voice and power to community through videos and network of correspondents drawn from socially excluded groups. The network is a joint initiative of Poorest Areas Civil Society and Video Volunteers.
1 shaping their own story COMMUNITY CORRESPONDENTS NETWORK Introduction The launch of community correspondents network in the national capital on June 29 th , 2013, marked an of=icial unveiling of a bold and creative partnership between Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) programme and Video Volunteers. The network that will have close to =ifty correspondents is aimed at providing community based organisations and its change narrators a strong medium for advocacy based campaign and wider outreach to newer audience using a gripping medium of videos. A partnership with Video Volunteers has been formed to create the network to equip civil society organisations with ability and skills to engage on issues of social exclusion and non discriminatory access to entitlements. While Video Volunteers bring in a strong background and credentials in fostering community media and training community correspondents, PACS programme provides strong linkage with issues of social exclusion and wider policy impact. EVENT ANALYSIS Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme
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shaping their own storyCOMMUNITY CORRESPONDENTS NETWORK
Introduction
The launch of community correspondents network in the national capital on June 29th, 2013, marked an of=icial unveiling of a bold and creative partnership between Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) programme and Video Volunteers.
The network that will have close to =ifty correspondents is aimed at providing community based organisations and
its change narrators a strong medium for advocacy based campaign and wider outreach to newer audience using a gripping medium of videos.
A partnership with Video Volunteers has been formed to create the network to equip civil society organisations with ability and skills to engage on issues of social exclusion and non-‐discriminatory access to entitlements.
While Video Volunteers bring in a strong background and credentials in fostering community media and training community correspondents, PACS programme provides strong linkage with issues of social exclusion and wider policy impact.
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The event
The launch event was packaged to create visibility for the initiative and engage mainstream media for the approach of providing voice to the excluded communities through video stories.
Since one of the long-‐term objectives of the initiative is to empower women and men from excluded community – Based in civil society organisations across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh – the event was also aimed at providing them direct exposure to some of the top media editors and activists.
PACS has been pushing its breaking margins campaign that focuses on issues of social discrimination through exhibitions and multimedia narrative. Started on December 10th 2012, the campaign has gained brand recognition for the issue of discrimination and its linkage with poverty among excluded social groups.
The event also included launch of a photo-‐exhibition titled breaking margins for social inclusion. It creates a powerful imagery of exclusion and its lived reality by manual scavenging communities. The exhibition will be on till 29th July 2013.
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The messaging
With a clear understanding that a wider hook for getting mainstream media attention and traction for the network among city audience needed messaging centered on the individuals, PACS designed all the artwork, key messages and multi-‐media in-‐house.
The focus had to be on individual stories of these women and men from the excluded community, who have had history of struggle against discrimination.
Most also come from the organisations that the PACS programme works with.
The uniqueness of the messaging had to also draw from the popular projection of the so-‐called mainstream news or prime time and who the reporters are.
The imagery of community correspondents as video campaigners was evoked to position them as change narrators who are also playing the role of catalysts.
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Outreach
The event and the initiative have generated visibility and interest among media watchers, including editors of mainstream media out=its.
Three key streams were targeted through the events. These are social media, national media and institutions. We have envisioned role for all of these within our community strategy.
For the social media outreach we were able to develop and harness some very gripping and popular posters, invites and banners. The crisp content based on quotes of correspondents was used for impact.
The content gathering for the event and visibility saw generation of over 80
photographs, a =ilm and audio podcasts. The exhibition images and a photo brochure were developed.
The web outreach fetched some encouraging numbers and provided opportunity to position PACS in a newer constituency within the social media users.
One of the signi=icant outcomes of the outreach plan has been the channel it has opened up with some of the top-‐level media editors and media activists.An eminent panel took part in a panel discussion that saw some interesting discussion on media and the issue of exclusion with regard to representing the voices of the other India. They have offered long-‐term support for the community correspondents network.
The launch saw a lively panel discussion that questioned whether mainstream media was neglecting the other India, the socially excluded people’s agenda of equity and inclusion. And what does it mean at a time when community media can be easily created and disseminated.
Sam Sharpe, head of DFID, chronicled how the shi7 from history wri9en by kings moved to the voice of the people through the prin?ng press. Then came radio, TV and the new media. Now with an ini?a?ve such as this, the unheard voices will truly be foregrounded. It will be a tool for transparency and help us understand more subtle forms of discrimina?on.
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The social media messaging also communicated the core focus on enabling communities through these change makers. The events page and posts on Facebook created an outreach of about 10,000 views, thus potentially reaching several thousands others indirectly. A Flickr gallery and a short =ilm were created for visual outreach. This is besides case studies and webpage showcasing the CCN videos that were created.
Communications and branding
The event was used to brand CCN as a community owned and collaborative initiative. While the stories of correspondents from the socially excluded groups were used to create individual hooks, the long-‐term vision for connecting them to ongoing campaigns was showcased through themes the correspondents have been covering. The social media messaging also communicated the core focus on enabling communities through these change makers. The events page and posts on Facebook created an outreach of about 10,000 views, thus potentially reaching several thousands others indirectly.The media coverage drew quality over numbers, with in-‐depth reports appearing in mainstream newspapers and prominent news wires. These include Indian Express, The Hindu, Press Trust of India and Indo Asian News Service.
The combined coverage, online and of=line, stood at 35 appearances.
The panel discussion on media and social change drew attention because of prominent pro=iles of the participants.
Vinod Mehta, Editorial Chairman, Outlook group felt the emphasis should be on how to get such stories to be part of mainstream media, to sharpen skills that ensure stories are newsworthy. While it was true that mainstream media did not give issues as much space as required, it was also true that they was greater exposure to cases of injustice particularly by the electronic media.
Stalin K, of Video Volunteers, highlighted the ability of the community correspondents to create direct impact by raising hyper local issues. The training and good story telling by the community correspondents has allowed the videos to create much wider impact.
Speaking of the vernacular media, Neelabh Mishra, editor of Outlook Hindi, said that while the reach is huge, there is fragmentation and news has become hyper local, with little or no national footprint
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Columnist and media commentator, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta spoke of how the fourth estate has become “real estate”, where a Bollywood stars’ suicide evokes more interest that a farmer’s. People should now look towards the new media – social media, mobiles and so on.
Pamela Philipose, Director, Women’s Feature Service, was happy that there were lots of women in the network and
this ensures that issues like caste and discrimination came through a gender lens.
Vipul Mudgal, Director, Inclusive Media for Change, CSDS, spoke of the urban slant of re=lecting rural issues. Not only is the space allocated very little, the framing is only through things like disasters and malnutrition. This does not take in the right to communicate or to be heard.
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Media Coverage appeared in following prominent outlets and portals
Selected listing of media coverage
Hyperlocal Videos by Rural Community Journalistshttp://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=802329
Keeping It In The Communityhttp://www.newslaundry.com/2013/07/keeping-it-in-the-community/
Telling their own storyhttp://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/telling-their-own-story/article4877341.ece
Community call for the socially marginalisedhttp://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/community-call-for-the-socially-marginalised/article4868756.ece
Innovative videos to initiate changehttp://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/innovative-videos-to-initiate-change-113062900509_1.html
A community correspondents network for Indiahttp://cj.ibnlive.in.com/a-community-correspondents-network/8767/
Stories from the hinterland: Community journalists go hyperlocalhttp://www.ufm4u.com/News.aspx?ID=1669
Hyperlocal videos by rural community Journalistshttp://www.jknewspoint.com/newsdet.aspx?q=16903
Stories from the hinterland: Community journalists go hyperlocalhttp://m.indianexpress.com/news/stories-from-the-hinterland-community-journalists-go-hyperlocal/1135801/
Innovative videos to initiate changehttp://www.theweekendleader.com/Headlines/1310/innovative-videos-to-initiate-change.html
Innovative videos to initiate changehttp://www.bihartimes.in/Newsbihar/2013/June/newsbihar29June9.html
Innovative videos to initiate changehttp://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/story.php?sec=3&subsec=0&id=163541&dtP=2013-06-30&ppr=1
