Media Workshop : HIV/AIDS Behavior Change Drama

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January 4th – 20, 2008
Johannesburg, South Africa
Additional cost (contact Chandler)
Must be organized by student
$1,250.00 USD per NGO student
Barefoot Alumni: 8% discount
$500.00
Deposit is non-refundable. Deposit must be in by December 15th, 2007. Balance due by January 1st, 2008
Chandler Griffin
Alison Fast

Chandler Griffin (general info)
chandler@barefootworkshops.org or
Brooke Bassin (payment options)
brooke.bassin@barefootworkshops.org

Population: 43,997,828 (2007 estimate)
Capital: Pretoria (administrative capital)
Area: 1,219,912 sq km (757,709 sq. miles)
Languages: Zulu - 23.8%, Xhosa - 17.6%, Afrikaans - 13.3%, Sepedi - 9.4%, English - 8.2%, Setswana - 8.2%, Sesotho - 7.9%, Xitsonga - 4.4%, other - 7.2% (2001 census)
Religions: Zion Christian - 11.1%, Pentecostal/Charismatic - 8.2%, Catholic - 7.1%, Methodist - 6.8%, Dutch Reformed - 6.7%, Anglican - 3.8%, Muslim - 1.5%, other Christian - 36%, other - 2.3%, unspecified - 1.4%, none - 15.1% (2001 census)
Life expectancy: 43.21 years (men), 41.66 years (women) (2007 est.)
People: Black African - 79%, white - 9.6%, colored - 8.9%, Indian/Asian - 2.5% (2001 census)
Main exports: Gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment

COMBATING HIV WITH MEDIA FOR NGOS

FACT:
• Sub-Saharan Africa has just over 10 percent of the world’s population, but more than 60 percent of all HIV/AIDS cases in the world.
• South Africa is home to more people with HIV/AIDS than anywhere else in the world- an estimated 5.5 million.
• Women and youth are especially at risk. About 45% of South Africans are under the age of 15. HIV infection among 15-20 year olds is increasing at a rate of 65% per year.
• Repeated surveys have shown that more than 95% of South Africans are aware of HIV/AIDS, but riskreducing behavior—specifically condom use—has remained almost unchanged for the past decade. More than two-thirds of youth are not using condoms consistently.
• Without dramatic action, in less than a decade, the number of people infected will exceed 10 million.

SOLUTION:
Organizations such as YouthAIDS and LoveLife make it their mandate to outreach to youth across South Africa with messages that positively influence sexual behavior, and reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission. Both organizations have become leaders in the fight against AIDS, through the innovative use of media to reach teens, as well as through massive street
mobilizations and events. In this two-week intensive workshop, Barefoot Workshops will add “participatory video” to the skill set of these two media-savvy NGOs.

Barefoot will train a total of ten staff members from both organizations, in how to produce short “Behavior Change Dramas” that build their capacity to produce content that integrates readily with outreach campaigns. Low-cost video technology coupled with mobile devices and community screenings, will lead to more effective grassroots responsiveness on the part of
both organizations, and will be the first step in inviting these organizations, to serve as a hub for other community-based productions, media-interested NGO’s, filmmakers and youth, in and around Johannesburg. (see Outcomes, Made In Africa: HIV/AIDS Video Library)

What is a "Behavior Change Drama"?
Behavioral Change refers to any transformation or modification of human behavior. Behavior modification is a technique of altering an individual's behaviors and reactions to stimuli through positive and negative reinforcement of adaptive behavior.

A Behavior Change Drama is a video format that introduces new patterns – or social norms- to the viewer through fictional or “narrative” scenes from daily life. The goal is to modify behavior through influencing the root values, social and cultural norms that underlie the audiences’ most basic beliefs.

COURSE STRUCTURE
Week 1:
• Review the still image
• Camera, tripod & sound overview.
• Multi Camera shoot. “The sequence”
• Determine target issue for each NGO and how media can be used.
• Scripting the Behavior Change Drama – many examples shown.
• Write scripts
• Shoot videos
Week 2:
• Shoot videos
• Log and capture
• Edit
• Presentation/Screening to public with handouts

OUTCOME
The resulting dramas will be used in clinics, churches, schools, community workshops and events, to encourage behavior change among HIV vulnerable populations- particularly youth.

NGO staff/students will be expected to design collateral materials such as handouts and fact sheets to accompany videos in the clinic and workshop settings, which should encourage interactive discussion of themes. NGO’s will also be encouraged to consider alternative forms of distribution including the Internet, community screenings, and mobile units.

Barefoot Workshops will incorporate the videos into an online and offline repository of videos, produced by the people for their own communities. “Made In Africa: HIV/AIDS Video Library”, is the first national media library in South Africa to harness the power of “participatory video”, and to inspire collaboration between media-interested NGOs to produce and disseminate HIV/AIDS content together, to further education, outreach, treatment and care.

Additional outcomes of the workshop include: advanced training in video production, increased networks of support locally among participating NGOs, greater visibility and public awareness of the NGOs role in combating HIV using media, and in-house skills that can be used to produce content for ongoing media campaigns.

Barefoot’s goal is to create responsible filmmakers who care about the world around them and who make it a point to give back to the people they work with. The point of Barefoot Workshops is to enrich and empower communities at a grassroots level. Barefoot encourages students internationally, to find their voice as filmmakers, while improving conditions locally by passing on their knowledge and skills to others.