"COMMUNITY VIDEO TO EMPOWER THE PEOPLE!"
KOMAS FFF2009 community
video forumby: 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 Indones
ia, 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) 
3 comments:
thanks for sharing this piece on freedomfilmfest jo han...i have been following the fest since 2007, when i first time heard about it from prakkash in BLDC in Bandung, Indonesia....it really inspired...have read some stories of films at screened at the fest...like the one promoting all human rights for all..with story of chinese boy who frustrated by malay dominated employers, who never hired him, starts his cd distribution business where he only hires chinese persons....
i would be interested in brining the fest to pakistan
hassan please make it happen, our fff has hit singapore and also london alrady...he he!
sure, jo hann, i would write you email to get details on the entire concept and funding etc...
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