Videographic training at Bina Hill, North Rupununi, Guyana
Claudia Nuzzo, participatory video expert from the Cobra Collective, joined the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) Darwin Team at Bina Hill, North Rupununi to work on their video and editing techniques before they head into the communities to begin community research and build local capacity.
The NRDDB Team, who previously worked on the COBRA Project, are using this opportunity to build their repertoire in how to edit more dynamic videos, as well as refreshing their memories on video techniques. The team comprised of Ryan Benjamin, Rebecca Xavier and Bernie Robertson, spent three days focused on gaining techniques to capture great videos and photographs using a tablet.
Claudia feels having great images is important in building a story. The images captured are key in setting the sequence of a story and if not well framed produces a poor quality video no matter how good the equipment might be.
The team will be heading into the North Rupununi communities to work with community members on traditional knowledge and its link to managing the land and protected area of Iwokrama Forest. As part of this process, community members will be trained in participatory video techniques that will enable them to capture elements of their traditional knowledge that they feel are important to preserve and that can be used in managing protected areas. These participatory video stories will then be shared with decision-makers in Georgetown through a video dialogue with the aim of increasing participation of communities in the governance of land and including traditional knowledge to inform the management of protected areas.