Using Flipcams in IFAD Asia projects - 9 march deadline

Do you have a creative idea on how video can be used to capture experiences in the field? Do you want to see your project documented from a grassroots perspective? Send us your proposals.

Thanks to the generosity of Cisco, IFAD has obtained a number of flipcams (a video camera the size of a mobile phone). The broadcast unit invites proposals for creative ways to visually document the experiences of rural poor people and ways of reducing poverty from a grassroots perspective. Flipcams will be provided to selected proposals, subject to the availability of cameras.

There are endless opportunities to use the flipcams. You are encouraged to come up with ideas, keeping the following guidelines in mind:

• Define the timespan. Choose an activity that can be videoed at regular intervals over a defined period of time.
• Think of an outlet. Define how you imagine using the footage (eg  blogs, social media sites, internet sites, workshops etc.). This will help clarify what’s expected of flipcam users.
• Be realistic. Keep the number of participants small (up to 5 or 6). This will make the project easier to manage and support, particularly if resources are limited.
• Outline clear objectives. Tell contributors how often, when and where you would like them to file their contributions.
• Make someone responsible. Make sure users are well-supported and that their progress is followed up on regularly.
• Provide regular access to computers. The flipcam can only hold one hour of footage at a time.  As a result, regular access to a computer to recharge internal batteries, download and edit footage is crucial.

If you think you’ve got an exciting idea, please send a brief summary addressing the six bullet points above to video@ifad.org by 9 March 2012.