This project aims to provide training and support to adolescents from São Francisco Xavier community and region, to learn how to use online media to tell their story. As a result, we hope to empower participants to create experimental videos independently and start an online video channel for the local community. This channel will be used to rescue and spread the local culture and history, drawing attention to critical issues to the community. We hope to involve adolescents and young adults in the activities and enable some participants as instructors, allowing more continuity to the project.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
São Francisco Xavier, São Jose dos Campos – SP
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
São Francisco Xavier is a rural district of São José dos Campos. It is located about 50 km from the urban center of the municipality and occupies 29% of its territory. Part of this area was transformed into an area of environmental protection with an area of original Atlantic Forest. The adult population of the district is approximately 60% of the total population of 3,852 inhabitants. The biggest social issue of our district is the employment, which becomes critical when analyzing its population. We estimate that the district population is composed in the majority of low incoming families, the sons of small farmers and small local traders, with a small portion of children of government workers. Thus this reflect the socioeconomic division of our district and our target population.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
Sidnei Pereira da Rosa, Bibliotecário e idealizador do projeto Biblioteca Solidária.- https://www.facebook.com/sidneipereira.rosa
Susan Moller Ferreira, Coordination Assistant. PhD student and researcher in the area of human computer interaction and digital inclusion. http://gti.upf.edu/susan-moller-ferreira/. – https://www.facebook.com/susan.mollerferreira
Danilo Ferrara, Bachelor in product design. – https://www.facebook.com/Danilo.Ferrara.SJC
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
We will develop a course on experimental video for teenagers, who are multipliers of the acquired knowledge. In the course participants will learn to create videos showing our local and regional culture as well as environmental issues in our community. The content created aims redeem the roots of Sao Francisco Xavier, integrating children with the past of the community drawing attention to its critical issues and suggesting improvements. This will be of great benefit for the historical record by saving the memories of the older members of the community and from digitalizing old photos protecting those records from the action of time. We also expect that other topics will emerge from the participants as the activities starts.
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.
Aiming long terms partnerships our association seeks the support of several local entities, public institutions and companies, adopting different strategies to seek sustainability. The community is very important to the success of the activities developed in the Biblioteca Solidária (Solidary Library). The local community sees the library as their “own space”, contributing to it in several ways, either as volunteers, collaborators, participants and actors of the actions performed. Participation and collaboration occur either individually or through local entities.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
We will be promoting three courses during a period of one year. Our Institution has 8 computers for this activity. To allow a better learning experience we plan to have one student per computer, counting with the participation of 8 students per course with a total of 24 participants. We plan to seed and sustain their participation through partnership with the local schools, reaching our target audience.
The number of participants who receive training may increase if we reach our goal to train participants to continue providing workshops voluntarily after finishing the first year of the project. Indirectly this project will benefit the entire population of the region that may have access to the content of the videos in the library or other Internet access points.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
In the courses participants will learn techniques of experimental film and edit videos in various accessible devices, such as a mobile phone, with the aim of creating familiarity with new technologies applied to media. We intend to provide training to participants on the use of photo and video cameras, mobile phones, scanners, use of tools for video editing and the creation and management of video channels on YouTube. The value of this activity to the community is to promote digital literacy in adolescents, using affordable equipment, working through the inclusion of these tools enabling acquire knowledge for a new profession.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
This project will be implemented in the Biblioteca Solidaria (Solidary Library). Our space for this project is approximately 30mt ², with whiteboard and chairs. We will provide Internet (ADSL 10 Mbps); 8 computers suitable for video editing; 1 Full HD photographic camera; 1 video recorder; 1 Compact Camera; 1 Professional Scanner for image editing; 1 common scanner; 2 Projectors; 1 Multifunction printer; 1 Laser Printer; and 4 computers for internal use.
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?
Our district has no public institutions, beyond the school, that allows children to experience moments of conviviality among themselves and with the arts. The Biblioteca Solidaria acts as a space that cover this public need. The Library Partnership is a reality in the district, and has a crucial role in the community being key to the insertion of children and adolescents in the world of literature and the arts. The local population recognizes it as a center of information and culture that is accessible to anyone, therefore, increases the opportunities for access to culture and information to the local community. Our library promotes the regional culture and its diversity contributing to the education and training of children, youth and adults of the district and region.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
We believe that we will not have many obstacles. Motivating the adolescents to participate can be a challenge, as well as training volunteers to continue the workshops after completing the first year of the project.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
Primary participants: number of participants able to create and post videos independently, number of videos published on project YouTube channel, number of videos posted online by participants independently (through social networks or personal YouTube channel), popularity of workshops (feedback from participants, number of new participants, number students who want to repeat the course).
Region: number of views and comments of the YouTube channel, increase in the knowledge and appreciation of local culture and history, increase of awareness and debate on environmental issues in the community, increased interest and knowledge of the population about online media.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
June 2014 – Planning courses, purchase of equipment and hiring teacher.
July, August, 2014: First video course.
September, 2014: Videos presentation in the library.
October, November, 2014: Second video course.
December, 2014: Videos presentation in the library.
January, February 2015: Local schools holiday. Partial evaluation of the results and planning of new sessions.
March, April, 2015 Third video course.
May, 2014: Videos presentation in the library.
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Payment to courses instructor: $ 1,000
Materials and equipment for the courses and dissemination: $ 700
Coordination: $ 500
Coordination Assistant: $ 300
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Enable contact with similar organizations and projects, allowing the exchange of experiences and a possible future collaboration.
Provide technical support regarding possible challenges and questions that may emerge during the project implementation.
Contact name
Sidnei Pereira da Rosa
Organization
Associação Amigos da Biblioteca