KOMAS FREEDOM FILM FEST 2009

"COMMUNITY VIDEO TO EMPOWER THE PEOPLE!"

KOMAS FFF2009 community video forum

by: Tan Jo Hann, KOMAS Executive Director & Community Video Facilitator


The message was clear that in "Community Video", the emphasis is on "community", and video is the tool. This message was being echoed throughout the community video forum organised by KOMAS. The half day event was a special highlight prelude to the official launching of the KOMAS Freedom film festival on October 2nd 2009 in Kuala Lumpur.

The event provided a platform for community video activists from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand to share about their experiences in using social videos with the communities they are working with. The content portrayed in the simple but creative films moved the participants of the forum to seriously reflect about video as a tool for social transformation.

From Indonesia, PPSW (Centre for Women's Resources Development ), PEKKA (Program for Women Headed Households), KAWAN NUSA (Bali), and KAMPUNG HALAMAN (Indonesia Youth Community Media) screened their short films and share about how they were used to raise awareness and prompt communities to take action in addressing their community issues.

From South Thailand, a short video slide show was shared about the worsening conflict situation in South Thailand. It was presented through the use of a very powerful and emotionally charged poem read by a young girl with visual inserts of photographs of the desperate living conditions of the people there.


FFF host Pusat KOMAS and their partner communities also shared their experiences in using different forms of community videos in their work among the Orang Asli (Indigenous peoples); to promote voter and citizenship education in Sarawak and among resident association in different local councils in Malaysia. The 60 over participants also had opportunities to dialogue and to share about their own experiences in using the video medium in their social transformation work with different communities of people.

At the end of the day, the message was clear that video is merely a tool for the community facilitator and organiser to raise awareness, conduct collective planning and motivate people towards action! Without this element video becomes merely entertainment, and will not affect changes in the lives of the communities. (If you are interested in learning how you can use community video processes for social change, please contact Mr. Prakkash, Community Video Coordinator, KOMAS, Tel: 03-79685415, or Email: komasjj@pc.jaring.my)

Nareth trains young organisers in Cambodia!

Editor's note: Nareth was a full time staff from YRDP Cambodia and has recently completed the SEAPCP Advance CO course in Kuala Lumpur.


In August this year after the SEAPCP ADVANCE CO COURSE, I just recently designed community organizing course in Khmer Language ( Handouts) already for a youth group of YRDP called "Young Leaders for Social Accountability" and provided a 24 hours training workshop for them. And now they have become organisers for a community in Kandal Province. Now I produced 15 outside young CO's from that community. They are starting to organize and engage villagers to involve actively in demanding good governance, transparency, planning commune development and so on.

This goup of youth will be the outside CO's for that community for a year and at the same time they have to find and create the inside young CO's for that community to take over their roles when the project finnishes in late 2010.

Now YRDP has community organizing course handouts in Khmer Language (References from Jo Hann Tan) I will continue to update you all on what is going on with them, what are their challenges and their successes

I received a job offer from an NGO in Cambodia called "Village Earth" working in Slum areas in the urban areas. Their main work is to improve the livelihood of slum communities through mobilizing their resources using a bottom up approach to development. I will be their Development and Mobilizing Program Advisor. I will start working with this NGO in early of 2010, and I will be working a lot with the grassroots people. I am writing a diary about my CO work with those communities and will share it with you all when I have the chance!

Hem Nareth, YRDP Cambodia

AGUNG TRAINS CO ACTIVISTS IN BALI

EDITOR'S NOTE: Agung from Walhi Bali was one of the participants of the SEAPCP ADVANCE CO COURSE 2009.

Suar and I just conducted a "CO Training for Young Activists" in Bali last month September 2009. The 2 days training was very dynamic and Jo Hann spent his time to share some lessons in analysis skill, of course through fun way (games) ! Although the participants were young activists with less experience in working with the community, they had very strong wills to learn about CO. We used simulation (how to deal with community as CO) and games to make it easy for them to understand.

In the evaluation, they said that they love the training which did not make them feel bored. For the next plan, they were planning to get more lessons from the field through organizing an urban poor community in Denpasar. After the training, I found that they are starting to interact more with the community.

Those who are found to be more active will be identified to join the next CO course (a longer and deeper training together with activists from the villages in November 2009. As for me, I learnt a lot as a CO trainer and realised that I have to improve my skill more. Thanks for listening to my sharing, guys!

Peace, Agung Wardana