The project I propose is to train ten citizen journalists in Ondewari community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria to report about their communities using mobile phones.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Yenagoa
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
I will be working with persons with at least diploma certificate education who are resident in this riverine community. One person, Tontiemotei Yeiyei, who I trained under the Vital Voices for Health project (www.vitalvoicesforhealth.org) is a contact person who has discussed the willingness of other youths in Ondewari (Southern Ijaw Local Government) to acquire skills similar to his so that there are more people reporting about the community. I like to work with the youths this community because the area is under reported because it is remote from the capital. The targeted group has basic computer and mobile phone skills.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Declan Okpalaeke (Knight International Journalism Fellow) http://www.ahja-news.org/
https://twitter.com/jenius99
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
My vision for content is to have been able to equip participants to report the issues that affect Ondewari (Southern Ijaw Local Government Area). This will enable this underserved community to spotlight the unreported aspects of the community as the mainstream media do not commit resources to reporting such areas. At the end of the training, participants would be able to write stories and blogs about their community, take photographs, record audio and short videos that would be published on the website of Vital Voices for Health with possibilities of being picked up by the mainstream media.
What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?
Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established or plan to establish that will contribute to the success of the project.
The Vital Voices for Health project of the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) http://www.icfj.org/our-work/nigeria-giving-citizens-niger-delta-voice-health-issues has already trained citizen journalists to report health issues in the Niger Delta. This project is however not community specific as it focuses on the Niger Delta as a geographical area. This grant would allow Ondewari community to have citizen journalists from within its ranks specifically trained and equipped to report its pressing issues.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
Eight (8) participants would be trained in the project. I will seek and sustain their participation by making them to understand that they are playing important roles for their communities by mentoring them to do produce contents that make impact.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The project will make use of mobile phones for reporting because it suits the electricity supply in the area. Participants can get some work done on their mobile phones in between charges. I will focus on writing skills and photography as well as audio recording.
I bring my skill from having trained citizen journalists in this region and building a network of these citizen journalists.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
A meeting room in any facility that is within good network coverage area in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. Advertised internet connection speed is 42Mbps but actual speed is at 3.6Mbps to 7.2Mbps.
What is your current relationship with the community with whom you plan to work? What makes you the most appropriate individual or organization to implement this project?
I already work building a network of citizen journalists in the Niger Delta of which Ondewari community is a part of. The project would get support from the Vital Voices for Health project to ensure it is sustained over time.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
The entire Niger Delta area is prone to unstable telecom network.
The prospective participants have low income so they would be dependent on the project for logistics.
The creeks and waterways leading to this community have witnessed kidnap for ransom in the past.
To overcome these obstacles:
Training could be held in the state capital, Yenagoa. This help address the problem of poor telecom network while at the same time eliminating the security concerns in the waterways.
Stipends would be provided for participants to cover basic logistics.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
With the project:
Participants would have learnt how to produce media contents about the issues in their community.
Their reports on should elicit government action or change in any existing undesirable situation.
Contents produced by the participants should be picked up by the global community and stimulate people's interest to know more in the global digital community.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
May 15: Visit to community/call for expression of interest
May 24: Close of expression of interest
May 24: Selection of participants
May 24: Start of online course/provision of training materials (4 Weeks)
June 24: Training Workshop (3 days)
June 30: Mentoring and guiding participants through actual content production (continuous)
July 24: Follow up visit to community
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Purchase of 8 mobile phones $980.00
Transportation for 8 participants $250.00
(Shared) Hotel Accommodation for 8 participants $365.00
Rental of meeting room $125.00
Per diem to participants $365.00
Trainer honorarium $200.00
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Networking with similar projects that have succeeded elsewhere and access to the training materials and formats used in such instances.
Contact name
Babatunde Akpeji
