For the past few months, EngageMedia has been working with WITNESS to co-host a gathering of key video for change activists, decision-makers and activists to discuss issues around the work that we do. Specifically, from 2 - 5 June 2012, we will be in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to talk about training issues, the development of toolkits, the effectivity and impact of our work and new trends in video advocacy. This will be followed by a three-day sprint to develop video for change materials / manuals / how-to's / guides that can be shared between participating organisations and the v4c toolkit that EngageMedia is developing.

Currently, the list of invited and confirmed participants reads like a virtual who's who in the video activism field. Groups like Video Volunteeers, Organisation for Visual Progression, Digital Democracy, Tactical Technology Collective, Insight Share, Telar Social, KOMAS, Kampung Halaman and the MIT Media Lab are all attending.

This is the first of its kind (and hopefully not the last!). There has never been a gathering of such groups to discuss our common work: the issues that we face, our training strategies, our ideas around the social impact of video activism, and the new trends in this field of work. For me, it will be a time to take stock of what we are doing and how we can do the work more effectively and collectively. I'm looking forward to seeing the differences and commonalities of our approaches to video advocacy, and discussing the areas where specific groups can specialise and where we can work more collaboratively.

We are also organising a public event to maximise the wealth of experience that will be on Yogyakarta in June. We want to be able to meet and greet with local organisations and activists. We will be working with Kampung Halaman to organise this public event.

With WITNESS and in consultation with the confirmed participants, we've drafted an agenda that covers the topics we will be discussing on the four-day retreat. Fingers-crossed, the v4c retreat will be interactive, enlightening and fun!

We'll post updates on the retreat on this blog! So watch this space.

We love prizes!

The Association for Progressive Communications, of which EngageMedia is a member, in close cooperation with networks and civil society groups, is pleased to accept the WSIS Project Prize from the International Telecommunications Union for the achievements of the GISWatch project under the category "The role of public governance authorities and all stakeholders in the promotion of ICT for development". GISWatch has made many important contributions to the understanding ofICT policies throughout the years, from ICT for development to internet governance from the perspectives of civil society.

We view this prize as a strong affirmation from the ICT community that GISW is an innovative, replicable and worthwhile international project that involves stakeholders around the implementation of WSIS outcomes by offering an efficient scenario where those actors can share their best practices.

EngageMedia contributed the Australian country report to the project in 2010, the Australian and Indonesian reports in 2011, and, in 2012, will contribute the Indonesian report. You can download the reports here.

http://groups.itu.int/wsis-forum2012/Home.aspx

Many of EngageMedia's friends in Malaysia were also on the street. Arvind Raj and Hisam Salleh were covering for Free Malaysia Today, Ineza Roussile was making her second Bersih rally appearance, and of course there were our good friends in Komas and the always reliable citizen journalist Uncle KS Tan.

Pusat Komas, Malaysia's human rights popular communications centre, released a statement for this year's rally. The organization listed eight core issues that continued to be unfulfilled from last year's Bersih campaign:

1. Clean the electoral roll
2. Reform postal ballot
3. Use of indelible ink (fulfilled)
4. Minimum 21 days campaign period
5. Free and fair access to media
6. Strengthen public institutions
7. Stop corruption
8. Stop dirty politics

Hisyam Salleh, captured the clashes between police and protesters, also journalists, in Dataran Merdeka. His media, Free Malaysia Today also opened a forum for readers to share their Bersih 3.0 experience. Check out Hisyam's testimony in Malay or Thai.

Ineza, this time around documenting for Bersih 428 (a tag used to represent the date), was stationed around Kuala Lumpur's Central Market. She wrote a blog chronicling the experience. She said:

"The mood was still very energetic. Everybody there, young and old, were chanting and singing. Once someone started with, ‘Bersih! Bersih!’, the crowd would respond with a huge roar of chants. It felt like victory."

But a few paragraphs later reality struck as the protesters, including Ineza, were tear gassed by the police.

"It was my first time getting tear gassed, and it’s definitely worse than you could ever expect. Feeling the burning chemicals in your lungs, and the uncontrollable coughing and tears streaming down your face, it really is a horrid experience."

For that particular case, Kiki Febriyanti, young but seasoned rally video maker, offered the an article (in Indonesian) for preparing ourselves against tear gas.

You'll find more tips and articles like the above in EngageMedia's upcoming "Video for Change Toolkit".

To watch more Berish 3.0 videos, the organizers put them together in the Bersih 3.0 YouTube Channel. Find out more also about the exploits of MalaysiaKini citizen journalists CJ.MY who were right in the middle of the hot zone.

As Ineza closed her blog, she asked: "a free and fair election is the most basic necessity of a so-called democracy, if a crowd that big was moved to the streets for something so basic, then how can anyone in power claim that Malaysia is democratic?"

Well, at least the army of Malaysian video activists will be around to not just witness but try to make change. Well done!