Resources

This video is based on the first five episodes of the Baraza ya Mji Mkongwe TV series from October-December 1999. The purpose was to facilitate public debate on the need for conservation of thousands of unique buildings in Zanzibar's historic Stonetown. The programmes were produced in a participatory way on the streets and in people's homes. They were broadcasted weekly by TV Zanzibar, each programme building on ideas from the previous one. The TV series is part of an on-going community based rehabilitation programme. The video demonstrates how local television was used in participatory urban planning in Zanzibar's Stonetown.

Debates about genetically modified (GM) corps in India have largely centered on their benefits, as espoused by scientists, transnational corporations and the government, excluding the farmers who grow the crops. This video documents the process by which Karnataka farmers held a citizen's jury over 5 days, to assess potential advantages and disadvantages of GM crops. The jury comprised eight female and six male farmers, and was held in the village of Bommagondakare. The jury questioned witnesses from biotechnology companies, national government, NGOs and farmers' groups. Farmers were open to the advantages but questioned applications of 'expert' scientific knowledge in local contexts. They saw the dangers of less accountability from the private profit-making corporations developing the technology. Farmers stressed their knowledge, and seed saving and breeding techniques. They were concerned that GM seeds would leave them powerless. Women in particular, who have the final say in the choice of seed and how it is sown, may be marginalised. The poorest farmers were concerned that GM crops could threaten food security. As part of the verdict, farmers were asked to vote on the question of whether they would grow GM crops. Nine farmers said 'no', four said 'yes', and one was not sure. Most of the jury wanted a moratorium on GM crops until extensive field trials, which involved farmers, were carried out for 5-10 years. The jury made detailed recommendations about what would be required to increase their confidence in GM seeds. Their main priority was that traditional varieties known to be reliable are conserved. Action Aid, in facilitating the citizen's jury, focused on the need for poor people to have a voice in decision-making on matters that affect their lives. The citizens' jury on GM crops is one such example. Given the right information, farmers can make sophisticated judgements. Their voices should be at the forefront of the GM debate and in the decision-making process on how the technology is taken forward.

Farmer communities of Sta. Josefa, a fifth class municipality in Agusan del Sur, take center stage in this 25-minute video. It highlights the value of people's participation in the local development planning process in the Philippines, a result of the 1991 Local Government Code, which provided a mandate for democratisation at the village level. The video explores the different participatory tools used to identify, prioritise and analyze problems, and which facilitate the communities in making their own development plans. Also featured is the willingness of local government units to lead communities in making claims through the participatory planning process, as seen in the experience of Toboso, Negros Occidental. This video features the partnership and interplay of the roles of vital community actors, such as non-governmental organisations, people's organisations and local government units, in assisting the communities to achieve socio-economic advancements. Importantly, it highlights the commitment to building empowered and sustainable communities.

Starting with a brief introduction to recent Ethiopian history, the film reports how REST, a Tigrayan relief and development organisation, is supporting the efforts of the people of northern Ethiopia to find long term solutions to the problems of drought, famine and underdevelopment

This video, produced by the Asian Productivity Organisation, introduces Participatory Project Cycle Management (PPCM) a planning concept used in community driven planning. The training process on PPCM organises learning in a cyclical manner. Important elements of the training are theoretical inputs, close interactions with the villagers, documentation and systematic processing of information generated through interaction with the villagers, critical reflection among participants, and validation of information through feedback sessions from the villagers.

It combines the methods and principles of Project Cycle Management (PCM) and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA). PPCM structures the interaction among communities, government and non-government organisations and international partners as a systematic and joint planning process.

In 1999 the Asian Productivity Organisation organised an international training programme on PPCM in collaboration with the Centre of Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) and the National; Productivity Organisation (NPO), Bangladesh. This video is the documentation of that training course

This training manual is aimed at development workers with an interest in integrating theatre techniques into their working practices. It emerged through participatory research and training courses held with civil society organisations in Northeast Brazil and Peru. Three case studies of youth groups are presented to explore the ways theatre is being used in development and how these created and adapted new techniques. There follows some handy advice about how to plan a workshop and what the role of a facilitator should be, as well as a series of exercises divided into four sections: Beginnings, Conflict Resolution, Issue-based work and Evaluation. The manual is accompanied by a video made by young Brazilians, in which professionals talk about the role of theatre in their work, and techniques with diverse participant groups are demonstrated to give the viewer a sense of how the techniques work in practice.