Poor individuals and families renting accommodation in Phnom Penh document their lives using digital media. Although amongst the poorest city dwellers, renters are currently excluded from policy initiatives directed at the urban poor. This project aims to both document the lives of renters, as well as show how important they are for the city. Project outputs: narratives, photos, video, blog, exhibition as part of the annual Our City Festival.
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The project blog will feature photos, video, and stories from the lives of 10 individuals renting accommodation in the city. Each will come from a different background and be trained to create the content and manage the blog. The content will be translated into English for a wider audience, and made into an audio-visual exhibition for the Our City Festival. The content provides insight into the lives of renters, and a way for them to speak out.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
Existing partnerships with workers’ federations and unions, other informal groups, urban poor communities, NGOs, and the organisers of the Our City Festival. STT is well known amongst these groups and has worked with them for the past several years.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
10 individuals benefit from the training in digital media. Over 100 renters from different backgrounds will however be exposed to the project by participating in Focus Group Discussions. The project will formally end with the Our City Festival exhibition, but STT will encourage those trained in the project to continue documenting their lives and advocate for the rights of renters following the publication of STT's research in 2014.
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Links with other groups of renters, online visibility for the initiative, training opportunities. Funding from Rising Voices and the visibility and connections that offers would really help in putting this much-neglected issue on the agenda!