Simon Koolwijk

From 9 th to 14 th February, 2014 Simon Koolwijk conducted a participatory video training for 20 representatives from 10 social accountability implementing partners in the Ethiopian Social Accountability Programme Phase 2 (ESAP2 ). This program aims to improve the communication and relations between local stakeholders such as local government (Woredas and Kebeles), civil society organisations, local citizens groups and service providers in the areas of health care, agriculture, water & sanitation, education and rural road construction. The process of better communication aims to help to improve the services of service providers (the suppliers) so that citizens needs (the users) are being met. The participatory video was initiated to help to stimulate and support the dialogue on social accountability and the improvement of social services. In the one week training, participants got the opportunity to apply participatory video in Metehare and Adama City.   In Metehare Cit...

Last week I facilitated a workshop with the aim to harvest funny fictional stories. I applied the facilitation method of the ‘Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf’ .   After sharing the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf , I explained the main characteristics of a good story. Definition of a story : A story is a representation of events that are associated with each other. A story has the following characteristics: ·          Is self-explanatory and has a beginning, middle and end; ·          Contains narrative elements; ·          Is authentic: true or true-ish; ·          Is personal; ·          Calls on emotions and / or is told with emotion. Narrative elements are: 1.        A main character (protagonis...

From 16 th to 20 th December, 2013 Simon Koolwijk conducted a participatory video training for 10 representatives from 5 social accountability implementing partners in the Ethiopian Social Accountability Programme (ESAP2). This program aims to improve the communication and relations between local stakeholders such as local government (Woredas and Kebeles), civil society organisations, local citizens groups and service providers in the areas of health care, agriculture, water and sanitation, education and rural road construction. The process of better communication aims to help to improve the services of service providers (the suppliers) so that citizens needs (the users) are being met. The participatory video was initiated to help to stimulate and support the dialogue on social accountability and the improvement of social services. In the one week training, participants got the opportunity to apply participatory video in Gulele Sub City, where they interviewed key stakeholders ...

Most Significant Change is an excellent evaluation tool for measuring behavioral change with beneficiaries during a project period. MSC has a step based approach where personal stories from key stakeholders are collected, analyzed and verified. One of the key steps is the phase of defining the 'Domain of Change' and collecting the stories. This is the phase where the MSC-question is asked for a specific change in a domain. For example: (1) Looking back over the last 2 years, (2) what do you think was, (3) the most significant (4) change (5) in the development of your business (6) in your community? Generally, three to five domains are a manageable number for conducting a MSC-evaluation. The stories are collected, analyzed, and verified from and with a selected group of beneficiairies. An important part is the process of drawing conclusions, lessons and recommendations. Involvement of the right stakeholders determines the quality of the outcome of the evaluation. Since ...

Collecting personal stories can provide some interesting insights on what is going on in a project or a community.   In june 2013, I worked for two weeks with O2Zone.tv .   This organization, based in Salon de Provence – France, aims to strengthen organisations and structures of social work in applying participatory video for building social cohesion amongst people or communities. O2Zone.tv trains social workers, teachers, trainers who work with groups or communities. Their work is mainly based in France, but also participates in projects in Africa and Canada. Video productions are disseminated through their webtv channel at http://www.o2zone.tv/ Storytelling   by local entrepreneurs Marseille – Provence has been designated in 2013 as cultural capital of Europe. Under the name MP13 various cultural activities are organized in Marseille and neighboring cities (Aix en Provence, Arlon, Salon de Provence) to promote the region in France and to other European countri...

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure - Colin Powell This quote triggered my interest while reading ' Making documentary films and videos - a practical guide to planning, filming and editing documentaries' -  author Barry Hampe.  The publication is a practical handbook giving some useful hints and tips on how to make a video production.  Practise, practise, practise, ask for feedback, reflect and practise again. Applying video is a process of hard work and learning. Video versus a report As a facilitator and evaluator of organisations, projects and multi-stakeholder processes, I am triggered by the fact that  video can express much more in a shorter time space than a report. A video is about visual evidence.  It shows behavior, people expressing emotions and attitudes. It also shows results and physical accomplishments.  A video interview not only communicates the content, but also peop...

"How do habitants think about their own neighbourhood?" .  This was the theme about which 17 European videomakers developed a participatory video on how citizens think of their neighbourhood in Marseille and Aix en Provence.  The theme was interesting since Marseille will be the cultural European Capital in 2013 together with Kosice in Slovakia.   This Grundtvig funded training about Participatory Videomaking was organised by Têtes de l'Art in co-operation with Vidéos des Pays et des Quartiers (VDPQ) and Anonymal. from 5th - 10th March, 2012. See video:  Participatory video making in Marseille "This training was well organised. We learned how to plan a story" , shares one of the participants. "A good planning is essential. It helps to develop the story and it saves time for video editing" .  During the middle of the week interviews were conducted in specific urban areas of Marseille and Aix en Provence.  Two teams composed a 7-minute vide...