The project aims to build community skills in computer/internet literacy to promote social-economic activities through electronic and online citizen media. The project seeks to provide a platform for training and voicing out of the most excluded and marginalized, yet viable community members in Luanshya district. Luanshya is located about 400 kilometers from the capital city of Zambia. The primary participants will be trained in short filmmaking (Documentaries), photography, and basic computer and internet skills. Participants will be drawn from local Schools, Community Based Organizations, Fa
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Luanshya
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
The population that we will be working with will range from decision-makers to rights-holders and civil rights groups. We consulted the local authorities, Teachers and community members during the development of this proposal that embraced the initiative and pledged on-going support throughout the project and suggested adjustments in line with key needs of the community. Public institutions and local authorities will provide necessary support for undertaking the project in order to have a wider platform for information dissemination. The targeted population has inadequate access to computer literacy skills and internet following the pullout of most commercial houses as a result of closure of the only mine in the district which acted as the main source of employment, hence the need for effe
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
To effectively implement the project individuals and institutions that the project will work with will include;Henry Kabwe who is coordinator for Media Network on Child’s rights and development (MNCRD),facebook links http://www.facebook.com/media network on child rights and development or http://www.facebook.com/henry.kabwe. Henry Kabwe is a seasoned and prominent journalist who has been spearheading the rights of vulnerable children in Zambia in the face of the media.The other partner will be Oswald Sichone who is coordinator of Oswald Sichone Children’s Media Foundation and his links are http://www.facebook.com/oswald.sichone. Oswald Sichone is an investigative journalist who has been very proactive in children’s welfare in Zambia. Another prospective partner will be Abdon Yezi who is di
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
The project will concentrate on publicizing social-economic stories such as HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation and poverty in the selected communities. Another important area that the project will seek to achieve is revealing untapped talent among rural youths to publicize their potential to the wider audience .The project participants will use facebook, twitter and YouTube to communicate their interests and concerns to decision-makers in their community, the nation and the global community to ignite interest in on various issues to a wider spectrum of stakeholders for attention and redress.
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 connections already established which will contribute to the success of the project include networking with media organizations such as Kambisabeheard Online Project and Media Network on Child’s Development which will enhance and popularize the community initiatives. Furthermore the project intends to use blogging and the Microgrant platform for maximized online visibility.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
The project targets to train a total of 45 primary participants and will seek to establish networks and collaborations with local business houses for sustainability of their participation. The project will invite commercial houses such as Mobile Phone Operators to feature their adverts in all our productions for them to support the project in its aim to expand and motivate a wider range of other local stakeholders. The participants to be trained will later participate actively in Short Film productions and photography and online marketing to showcase their skills and mentor them to establish their media initiatives to enhance and apply the skills.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
The primary technologies will include computer/internet,digital cameras as the project will mainly use facebook. Computer literacy will be essential in the project considering that throughout trainings on short filmmaking, photography and computer/internet skills. Participants shall depend on the use our of computers and mobile phones to access facebook to communicate contents as well as disseminating information.As project organizer I will take advantage of my skills in filmmaking,project management and digital photography while my partners are trained journalists who will provide professional guidance and training in contents necessary for the project
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
During trainings we will hire community halls capable of accommodating about 25 participants per session. We shall use 2 Computers available at the organization (Natural Echoes Productions) for training sessions. The community halls have adequate ventilation and lighting. Each computer will be equipped with a 3G modem for internet connectivity. The community halls are centrally located to provide convenience in organizing and transport for participants.
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 relationship with the community in which we will work is very accommodating and interactive as they will not be new to the activities of the organization considering the fact that our services are on demand due to the scarcity of essential online skills empowerment opportunities in the community. Our long term plans include establishing a Youth Resource Center to provide essential IT facilities and skills training in computer/internet literacy.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
Challenges foreseen during planning and implementation include inadequate finances, limited number of computers and internet facilities and large number of underrepresented members of the community on online citizen media. The challenges will be overcome by adjusting to available resources and seeking more funding partners to accommodate the high number of underrepresented people demanding computer and internet skills for online communication to sustain the project in the long term.The security concerns may be politicizing of some media contents especially if they may be critical of political leaders .
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
Monitoring and Evaluation of the project will be done through conducting project review meetings with primary participants, collecting feedback messages on the facebook page and blog. Evaluation will also be done by assessing and documenting the frequency of media coverage on projects undertaken with and by the primary participants. The number of participants trained against the planned number of participants to be trained will define milestones towards attaining project objectives and goals. The number of local and global stakeholders partnering with our group will also be used to evaluate the project. Success will be determined by the number of participants establishing their initiatives after training in filmmaking and computer/internet skills, number of participants using attained skil
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
The project will be undertaken in a period of 10 Months as follows:
No Date Task/Activity
1 June 1 –June 6 Recruiting Participants
2 June 7-June 9 Hiring training venues
3 June 10-June 12 Purchasing training materials
4 June 17-June 19 Conducting a Training Workshop on photography, videography, social media ,communication skills, basic computer skills, internet ,& uploading contents on social media
5 July 8-July 10 Conducting a Training Workshop on photography, videography, social media, ,communication skills, basic computer skills, internet ,& uploading contents on social media
6 August 1-August 10 Preparing training reports
7 August 22-August 29 Holding project review meetings
8 September 1-September 30 Collecting media contents
9 October 1-October 15 Editing media contents
10 October 17-October 30 Uploading contents on Rising Voices platform, social media
11 November 1-December 10 Conducting impact assessment meetings with primary participants and community
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
PROJECT BUDGET
No ITEM COST ($)
1 Hire of training venue 2@$100 – $200
2 Purchase of Digital Camera 1@$250- $250
3 Purchase of internet modems 2@$50- $100
4 Purchase of Internet bundles 2@$100- $200
5 Stationary (Note books, Pens, Flip charts, Markers)-$80
6 Communication and transport $100
6 Refreshments(Drinks, Water, Snacks) 45@$10- $450
7 Participants transport refund 45@$10- $450
8 Facilitators fee 2@$120- $240
9 Coordinator’s allowance 1@$200- $200
10 Monitoring and Evaluation/reports 2@$60- $120
11 Total -$2,410
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
For the success of the project Rising Voices can support us by marketing of the project to other partners who would support the expansion of the project to accommodate many participants in the community who are underrepresented on online media. Furthermore, the need to continue offering the online platform would enhance publicity of the community’s online communication.
Contact name
Richard Ngoma
Organization
NATURAL ECHOES PRODUCTINGS