Peoplewitness is a network of livestreamers born in November 2011. We help spread the voice of communities strongly hit by austerity measures, while traditional media only offers an official version of the crisis. Peoplewitness helps cover the citizens’ need to report their reality. We do a series of workshops to provide the knowledge, technology, motivation, support and selfconfidence people need to report their own reality through streaming.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Several Spanish cities affected by recession where there are still no citizen streamers. https://tallerespeoplewitness.crowdmap.com/
Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.
Traditional media is creating its own narrative of Europe's recession by blaming the most disadvantaged collectives while leaving banks exempt of responsibility.
Those who are suffering most due to the crisis need to create their own narrative: people evicted from their homes, students and teachers affected by education cuts, disabled or elderly people who no longer receive the social help they need, sick people who don't receive treatment.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
Through livestreaming people can perform interviews, personal stories, statements, broadcast talks, and create a chronicle of the problems they are going through due to the crisis.
Each person will have their own livestream channel which can be integrated into videoblogs that collect the work of several members of the community. At the workshops they shall also learn how to setup an online TV and how to use social networks to spread their voice
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Other tools
Livestream channel
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.
Peoplewitness was born from members of different workgroups within the 15M movement. We are well connected with most collectives born within and around the 15M, which gives us a huge network of social activists.
So far we have done the workshops locally, for university students and activists. Many collectives have asked us to cover their actions, so we realized that we should prepare special workshops aimed at these collectives.
How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?
In 2012 we did 35 workshops with 20-30 people present and a varying number following them online. Due to lack of funds, these workshops were at our own cities and outskirts, except when invited somewhere to perform a workshop. With this grant we could go to areas of Spain where the project is not present yet.
We reckon 20 people per workshop plus 40-50 online. The amount of workshops in new cities in will depend on the economic support received
Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?
Our own network of contacts among activists has been quite helpful so far, but Rising Voices could certainly help by providing:
- Physical infrastructure for workshops and accommodation
– Hot Spot Internet access
– Smartphones
– High definition digital cameras
– Promotion of our project and workshops
– Legal advice for streamers
Contact name
Susana Sanz Guardo