With this project we aim to show the world our history before it's forgotten in time. We will train people so that they can communicate and share information through information technologies. We want people to share their story, their work experience, social traditions, their old daily routine and their old eating habits. We want them to remind our landscapes as they were formerly, and how architecture has changed. We intend to work with youth, adults and seniors (from this region) with the aim of disseminating and promoting cultural aspects and traditions experienced by each individual.
Topical focus:
Country:
What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?
Borba
Describe the specific population with whom you will be working.
We want to work with the younger generation and the older generation. We want to involve the schools from this area, the nursing homes and many other associations. The population is aging and very often the seniors are alone and have no one to share their story, their life experience, and this information dies with them. With the passage of time and the technological developments many seniors were unable, or unwilling, to follow this development and so, instead of taking a step forward, our community stepped back. Young people communicate over the internet, etc. and the seniors do not know how to do this. The communication between the older generation with youth stopped at this point. With this project we want to reverse this trend and start to communicate.
Who else will be on your team to help implement the project?
The core team of coordinators is formed by: Ângelo Sá, Sara Anselmo and Ana Franco. The remaining will be direct participants,meaning, people who will be trained by us (12 people) and the global participants, who will participate by spreading their stories and reviews, and they will be the ones using the cameras, recorders and computer.
What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?
There will be a project page which will be a kind of digital poster for all activities. On this page there will bethe links to redirect to the other pages of facebook and blogs, where there will be an introduction to all the stories as they are inserted in the pages of our participants. While the seniors share their stories, they will receive comments that will be open to discussion on their facebook pages. These stories, that will also be broadcasted through radio and audio, we will also be able to hear a very particular language, with terms that are no longer used by our youth. We will also post current and past images ( of landscapes, buildings or places) that are involved in the stories of our participants which will allow us to build a photographic memory of this project.
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.
We have contacted the local radio. We also intend to formally contact the nursing homes, schools, the Senior University, the Youth Association of Borba, Borba Cultural Center, the Blood Donors Association, the Pensioners Association, etc.
In the local radio we intend to carry out some interviews(mainly of the seniors) so that they can speak of the local histories and changes in traditions and architecture that emerged with the passage of time. The radio will also be the meeting point for interviews and discussions about certain traditions, but seen by two generations. We will also make small news that will be posted on the pages of facebook and blogs where we will attach photographs relating to these matters.
How many participants do you think will be trained in your project?
We are looking for the largest number of participants possible. Regarding to training, we are looking for a group of 12 participants. We intend that they will be people that already work in schools, in nursing homes, in cooperating institutions and we want them to be part of this project voluntarily. We seek participants that willsupport our project, that are motivated and believe that this is something important for our community. We intend them to support our goal of involving the entire population, especially in terms of making our seniors feel more integrated and important. Our participants will have a fundamental role since they will help us to keep the facebook pages and blogs updated.
Describe which technologies, tools, and media you will focus on when training participants.
We have computer knowledge at an user's perspective, we have knowledge in the use of social networks and we know how to make the uploading and downloading of videos. We use recorders and cameras in different activities related to our professional lives. Through audio recordings we can record all the stories of the participants because this community lives of local and rural traditions, this way each individual can tell their own version of the story. We will provide training to participants on the use of recorders and cameras. We will provide training in basic computer use and internet (facebook, blogs …). We will teach them how to upload and download images and audio files. We will focus us on the Internet (social networks), radio and áudio we want them to keep in touch.
Describe the facilities where you will hold the workshops.
The facilities are located in Borba. Its location is very central so our participants will have an easy access to them. These facilities are prepared with 3 computers with internet connection.
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?
The 3 coordinators are from Borba, this is the community that brought us up and so we understand what is needed to reach the people in this area. We hold expertise and relationships with all people in the community because we live here. Being a small community, everyone knows each other and we know all institutions that we want to engage in this project. The coordinator ÂngeloSá was a mayor for 12 years and maintains his active relationship with the various agencies in the area, always looking for resources to help this community and region. The coordinators Sara Anselmo and Ana Franco have both a degree, their academic and professional experience allows them to provide training to our participants. Overall, we all have a considerable social capacity that will allow us to interact.
What specific challenges do you expect to face when planning and implementing your project?
The challenges we think we will encounter may be: the fear of the older generation to use something they are not used to and that some people may not understand the concept of this project, but we think it is too important for people to be afraid. There may be also an inhibition of people telling aspects of their life. To overcome these obstacles, we will make people understand how important they are to the community, that their stories matter to us and that they can teach us in the future. People are free to share whatever they want and that they consider of interest.
How will you measure and evaluate the project’s impact, specifically: your primary participants, the wider regional community, or the global digital community?
We will try to reach the participants, the community and the global digital community so we assume that an impact will be seen in these 3 parts, through the interaction in our blogs and facebook pages. If this happens we will define our project as a success and that we have reached our goals.
If your project were to be selected as a Rising Voices grantee, what would be the general timeline of project activities in 2014?
Schedule for 4 months
Early August :
– Meetings and early training of our participants in audio , photo, information and communication technologies
– Development of facebook pages and blogs
– Participation in the Festas do Nosso Senhor dos Aflitos (feasts of the Lord Jesus of the Afflicted)
September / October:
– time of year that makes the harvest , rural activity of great importance in this region .
– Participation in a harvest ( young and old generations)
November:
– Annual Festival of Vine and Wine – participation in the party through a social lunch between the project participants and the community .
– Visits to points that are of common interest to the project
– Interviews on local radio
– Workshop developed by a group of seniors where they communicate to the public the techniques and secrets of their professional activity
December :
– traditions , culture, religious stories , songs
End of December-Workshop developed by some of the participants.
Detail a specific budget of up to $2,500 USD for operating costs.
Total budget : 2,500$
Costs will be distributed as follows:
2 Cameras and 2 recorders: 400$
Internet access (5 months): 150$
Workshop copies and materials: 250$
Activities – workshops(5 months): 500$
Coordinators expenses: 1200$
Besides the microgrant funding, what other support can Rising Voices provide for your project to ensure its success?
Suggestions and assistance as may be necessary to delineate our project.
Contact name
Sara Anselmo, Ana Franco
Organization
Europalop
