The aim of this project is to involve large number LGBT persons from Montenegro in online activism trough production of personal digital stories that will be published online on www.montenegro-gay.me portal that will be rebuilt within the next one week after the hacking attack and interactive map of our country containing marked different location on which important things happens in lives of LGBT persons and short stories related to them. This will increase visibility of LGBT persons but also increase problems that we are facing with in everyday life.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Podgorica
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
We are LGBT organization from Montenegro campaigning for LGBT rights and a life free from threats and discrimination. The project will support LGBT persons to produce and distribute their own digital stories: coming out, successes, threats, changes that happened in their lives or their communities. Online representation of LGBT is based on prejudices and stereotypes we want to propose alternative and diverse representations where LGBT talk for themselves, address problems and rejection but also talk of their allies and tell stories of solidarity. Computer and internet skills varies, all persons use internet for personal and professional communication. Internet is very often the safe space where LGBT search for information or meet people.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
We participated in 2013 in a digital story telling workshop held by OWPSEE. OWPSEE believes that multimedia is a superb tool for advocacy. Digital storytelling is a multimedia tool that can help deconstruct gender and discrimination, where the stories are told by storyteller using audio and video editing themselves. The organization runs digital story telling workshops since 2008, is an ally of LGBT organization and advocate for LGBT rights.
Web site: www.oneworldsee.org; Twitter: @owpsee; Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oneworldsee
For more information on digitalstorytelling: http://digitalneprice.net/docs/Citizenship_in_BiH_-_visual_stories_of_change_ONLINE.pdf and http://dst.oneworldsee.org/
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
We foreseen two key actions: creation of an interactive map and generation of digital stories. The map will host personal stories of LGBT and their allies, friends and families but also short feeds of events, denounce, threats. To encourage people to share and participate in populating the map we will produce 15 personal digital story, authentic stories done by the authors themselves posted and shared online to support and promote the launch of the map. The aim is to encourage dialogue, to invite LGBT population and their allies to contribute and populate the platform with others stories in different formats.
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.
Connection with OWPSEE is established in 2013 trough the digital story telling workshop held by OWPSEE in Sarajevo. OWPSEE trainers will held the workshop within this project.
Queer Montenegro will establish collaboration with NGO Juventas (www.juventas.co.me) and PR Center (www.prcentar.me) which will also provide logistical support for project implementation and promotion of project results.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
Our aim is to support 15 people to produce and tell their stories, story that matter and advocate for LGBT rights, together with this, to open up an online space: the map, where give visibility to the many story of braveness, solidarity and discrimination that populate our daily life. This is the focus of our organization which is part of the LGBT community, which is involved from the beginning in the entire process.
Two person from our organization will assist the two trainers/facilitators to learn and understand the methodology and be able to support in the future request for creation of digital story while based on the already existing collaboration with OWPSEE, we foreseen possibility of receiving support and tutoring online when necessary.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We bring the relationship of trust with the LGBT community; the readiness to advocate and take a stand; the facilities for the workshop, the equipment (computers, scanner, printer), utilities (Internet connection), web site and hosting where the map and the video will be hosted.
Owpsee has the skill in training and facilitate digital story telling workshop, development of communication strategy to promote the map and the stories.
It is essential for the credibility of the map and for encouraging other people to break the taboo of silence and show that is possible but also that LGBT stories are relevant. Digital story telling workshops create a safe space where storytellers are in control of their story, it empowers authors to take a stand on an issue/event relevant for their lives.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
We have appropriate space for holding of digital stories workshops, desk top and lap top computers needed for workshops, digital camera, scanner, video projector, wide flat screen, home video system and ADSL internet connection (5 MBs speed).
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?
Queer Montenegro is grass root organization that is established by and gather together LGBTIQ persons, their family members and friends with aim for total equality in Montenegro. Queer Montenegro had everyday contact with LGBT community and number of voluntaries involved in its work. Community building activities are in the main focus and these activities resulted in successfully organized nation wide Pride Rally “Montenegro Pride” in October 2013 and organization of the second “Montenegro Pride Rally” that will be held in June 2014. Three members of Queer Montenegro already participated in “Digital Stories” workshop in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in May 2013 and they are willing to share its experience with other LGBT persons from Montenegro.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
We expect reaction after the launch of the map and the dissemination of the video, we have already experimented hacking of our web, and we are now finalizing the new web which will be online in few days and have learn to secure our platforms and communications.
We will together with the storytellers reflects on possible reaction on the stories and will consider and advise about anonymity.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
Will be the first time in the history of the LGBT community that 15 personal stories will be produced and released publicly. Statistics of views but also share, comments will help to measure the success. The stories will be subtitled in Albanian, Macedonian and English, and will contribute to increase and strengthen LGBT advocacy in the region and at the global level. On long terms the content generated for the map in its different formats will provide an additional indication of success.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
Duration of the project six (6) month
Month 1:
Open call for participants, submission and selection
Month 2 and 3:
• Organization and realization of the digital story telling workshop (duration 4 days) which include a technical assessment participants;
• Design of the map and testing of the feature for publishing feeds, video, etc
Month 4-6:
Post-production, subtitling
• Launch of the map (Online event)
• Publication of the stories (three per week)
• Promotion via social networks
• Reporting
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
1. Trainers fee: 900,00 USD (two trainers x three days x 150,00 USD)
2. Accommodation and food for trainers: 420,00 (two persons x three days x 70,00 USD)
3. Travel expenses for trainers: 120,00 USD (two persons x 60,00 USD)
4. Working materials for participants: 100,00 USD (papers, markers, stickers, water colors…)
5. Food and refreshment for participants: 315,00 (15 participants x 3 days x 7,00 USD)
6. Web master and social network manager fee: 300,00 USD (Total amount)
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Promotion and follow up of the map and the stories, it is very important to count on international media that can inform and also in case of threats channel international support and help break the kind of isolation that activist experiment when under “attack”.
Contact name
Danijel Kalezic
Organization
Montenegrin LGBTIQ Association “Queer Montenegro”