In late August, one of the participants of Camp Chindwin, our Southeast Asia Video Camp, Jessie from EarthRights International invited EngageMedia to their workshop to run a session on effective video advocacy.
In August 2015, a West Papuan woman completed her stint as the first participant of our Video Residency program in Yogyakarta. The program is designed to enable filmmakers to advance their video production skills while expanding their networks in the larger video and film community in Indonesia.
EngageMedia is a non-profit media, technology and culture organisation. EngageMedia uses the power of video, the Internet and open technologies to create social and environmental change. We harness old and new media to assist movements challenge social injustice and environmental damage, as well as to present solutions.
In August, Myanmar faced one of the worst natural disasters in recent history, with four of its states being declared natural disaster zones by the United Nations. At least 27 people have died and over 156,000 people are displaced, many losing their homes and an entire season of crops.
It was a lovely Friday evening and people started to gather at the EngageMedia office in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for a screening of five films from West Papua. One of the films (featured below) was produced by Martha Langowuyo, who has been with us for one month as a participant of our new residency programme.
Despite being formerly banned and operating in exile, Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) have captured some of Myanmar’s most historical moments on camera. The media organisation got international attention after the award-winning film, ‘Burma VJ’, which shows the work of their secret video reporters during the Saffron Revolution.
On 13 August, we screened Crossroads, our video collection on migration, and other relevant videos from Southeast Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, to discuss the methodology and impact of community video and advocacy in the region.
During Camp Chindwin, our Southeast Asia Video Camp in Myanmar, there were two sessions specifically aimed at discussing women’s issues in the realm of film making.
According to the Global Slavery Index in 2014, the number of victims of modern slavery worldwide went up 300% from the previous year. Research by the Walk Free Foundation (WFF, Australia) in 2013 has stated Indonesia as being one of 114 countries around the world that practices modern slavery and that there were an estimated 210,000 Indonesians who were working in conditions equating to slavery in foreign countries.
