Art for Social Change

This issue of the Soul Beat is about the use of art for social change and looks at how the arts can communicate information on a variety of issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, poverty, youth and peacebuilding. It also looks at how the arts can be used as a tool for development and empowerment. We include here just some of the projects, materials and strategic thinking documents that deal with the use of painting, photography, music and video which aim to promote health and development in Africa.

We have not covered theatre for development in this issue as we are planning an edition of The Soul Beat on this topic in the near future. If you are involved in theatre for development, please send us your information. We are also planning a future issue on educational comics and are looking for more examples from Africa.

Please send your information to Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com

PAINTING

1. Painting for Development - Nigeria

Agenda for Community Development (AFCODE) is a community based organisation working with youth. The organisation believes that the creative arts can be used as a vehicle for change and education and based on this belief, have established a participatory mural painting project called "Painting for Development". The project works through secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria and focuses on drug abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention and conflict resolution.

Contact info@afcode.org

2. Art for Peace Project - Uganda

This is a project for youth affected by the civil war in Northern Uganda. The faith-based non-governmental organisation Africa Youth Ministries Uganda (AYMU) trains former rebel soldiers and former abductees in art and crafts. The organisation also provides them with materials, helps monitor quality and assists in marketing art products. AYMU hopes to reach 600 war-affected youth in the districts of Gulu, Lira and Pader.

Contact Albert Kunihira Albert@aymu.org OR peacemaker_ug@yahoo.ie OR info@aymu.org

3. Arts for Social Change Learning Journey - South Africa

This "learning journey" project aimed to provide international artists and development specialists with the opportunity to share their knowledge on the use of arts for social change. The learning journey is based on the idea that the arts - painting, dance, music and theatre - can empower disadvantaged youth and build awareness around topical issues such as HIV/AIDS and children's rights. The ten-day programme which took place in Johannesburg, South Africa was organised by Pioneers of Change, an international network of development practitioners who seek to encourage the implementation of innovative development and communication strategies by providing workshops and training.

Contact Marianne "Mille" Bojer mbojer@pioneersofchange.net

4. AIDS Mural Project Handbook: Beyond Awareness Campaign

This illustrated booklet provides information on mural painting with a focus on experiences and images from a seven-city mural project which formed part of the national Beyond Awareness Campaign (BAC) in South Africa. It is a guide for people interested in developing an AIDS mural and gives basic steps to follow when initiating a mural painting programme.

5. The 9th Annual International Peace Pals Art Competition and Exhibition

Deadline: July 31 2006

The World Peace Prayer Society, the Goi Peace Foundation to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union (AU) invites children throughout the world between the ages of 5 and 15 to participate in The 9th Annual International Peace Pals Art Competition and Exhibition. The competition's theme is 'Living Together in Peace and Harmony'. Pictures should include the message "May Peace Prevail on Earth".

MUSIC

6. Safe Journey Campaign: The Music

This article looks at the "Safe Journey" campaign's communication strategy which used entertainment-education to disseminate HIV/AIDS messages. The project used popular musician, Bhudaza's, three new songs which reflect the lives and experiences of BaSotho migrant workers in South Africa while passing along messages relating to HIV/AIDS. The songs speak about people's life experiences rather than trying to lecture or 'educate.' The campaign was a collaboration between Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) Southern Africa and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Regional Office in Pretoria, working in partnership with Population Services International (PSI) - Lesotho, Harmony Mines, and the Society for Family Health South Africa.

7. Compassion, Tolerance and Sensitivity (CATS) campaign - Ethiopia

This campaign was launched in Ethiopia on World AIDS Day 2003 to address stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS. It used songs and music videos to raise awareness and motivate for change in behaviour. Eight of the country's best-known musicians collaborated to produces songs and music videos which were broadcast on radio and television.

Contact info@fhi.org.et

8. Developing Youth through Music - South Africa

This is a programme created by the Johannesburg Orchestra Company that uses music and music-based training to foster youth development in South Africa. The goal is to keep orchestral music alive by providing a musical home to more than 450 children and youth. It hopes to build bridges between children and young people by bringing diverse communities together through group music making. The programme is based on the belief that human exchange through music can be a powerful force for healing and change.

Contact Susan Harrop-Allin info@fhi.org.et OR susanha@telkomsa.net OR muschool@global.co.za

9. Hip-hop in the Age of Empire: Cape Flats Style

The paper begins with an explanation of the concept of Empire, which is sited as being particularly helpful in a discussion of hip-hop in post-apartheid South Africa. South Africa continues to deal with the economic and political consequences of apartheid while also having to deal with the demands of global capitalism. The author suggests that despite the seeming deligitimisation of hip-hop, 'conscious' hip-hop continues to have underground appeal and is employed as a tool in marginal spaces, such as Cape Town, South Africa. In this regard, hip-hop continues to be a valuable vehicle for educating youth in Cape Town.

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CALL for HIV/AIDS, youth and orphans and vulnerable children documentary and/or stills footage

Dance4Life would like to use this still footage as a backdrop at the 2006 Cultural and Performance Arts, Youth & HIV/AIDS concert taking place in Durban, South Africa on November 25 2006.

The event will host about 3,000 youth from the Dance4Life schools projects in South Africa. Established as well as upcoming South African and international artists will perform at the event, which will be televised live nationally, and linked via satellite to other Dance4Life programmes around the world.

Contact Marlijn van Berne

Dance4Life South Africa

mvanbe@sa-dance4life.org.za

Dance4life website

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VIDEO PROJECTS

10. Children's Video Project - Kenya

This project by Plan Kenya aims to give Kenyan children a voice to advocate for their rights and development. Plan Kenya believes that children are in the best position to comment on their lives and should therefore be given the skills and the opportunity to express their joys, worries, hopes and fears through video. The video project gives children an opportunity to communicate their issues to other children, to parents, and the community in which they live in as well as to development workers and policy makers on the national and international stage.

Contact wajuhi.kamau@plan-international.org

11. Adding Spice: Collaborative Video as an Intersection Between Institutions and Refugees in Dadaab, Kenya

Paper given at 3rd Annual Forced Migration Student Conference 'Seeking Refuge, Seeking Rights, Seeking a Future'

This presentation examines the creation of a video about HIV/AIDS that was written and produced in the three Dadaab Refugee Camps of Northeastern Province, Kenya. The FilmAid project used participatory methodology to ensure local appropriateness and to provide health programming that is related to local contexts. The public health educational video project was undertaken as a collaboration between aid agencies (led by FilmAid International and United Nations World Food Programme - WFP) and Somali refugees.

12. Questions and Answers about Participatory Video

by Lars Johansson, Verena Knippel, Dominick de Waal and Farida Nyamachumbe

This is a publication about the most common questions received, both from development workers who are interested in introducing video in their projects, and people who are curious about participatory video (PV) and TV in the context of urban and rural development. It answers questions such as: What can PV be used for? What are the steps in the production process? How does PV relate to PRA? How does PV relate to drama and theatre for development?

13. Media Activism in the Screening Room: The Significance of Viewing Locations, Facilitation and Audience Dynamics in the Reception of HIV/AIDS Films in South Africa

In this paper author Lucinda Engelhart shares her experience with the Steps for the Future film project. The project aims to reach people in Southern Africa and around the world with films that challenge people's perceptions about HIV/AIDS, and the stigmatisation and denial that accompany the epidemic. Over the space of a year the author travelled to various Steps screenings around Southern Africa, observing what was taking place. The phenomenon of group process in the viewing space is explored in this paper. The author's observations in the viewing locations and interviews repeatedly highlight two factors that appear to play a large part in the success of the screenings. These are the group reception of the films and the fact that the films are mediated by "authentic" facilitators.

14. Scenarios From the Sahel: Users' Guide

The Guide is designed to help people get the most out of the Scenarios from the Sahel films by offering guidelines to prepare for and facilitate the discussions following presentations. Scenarios from the Sahel is a community mobilisation, education and media project designed to improve the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS, reduce the spread of the virus, and help organisations develop their capacity for effective HIV/AIDS education.

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Call for Poems for AIDSoutofAFRICA

After a period of absence AIDSoutofAfrica is calling for poems on HIV/AIDS in Africa for the month of June. The deadline for the edition will be June 30th, 2006.

Please send in your poems to Mwaganu wa Kaggia at Mwaganu@aol.com

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PHOTOGRAPHY

15. Moving Walls - Africa

This is an online photographic exhibition by the Open Society Institute (OSI) with photographs from four continents. Three of the six photographers in the Moving Walls II series focus on Africa, exploring issues around resource wealth, ethnic cleansing and displacement, and the transition from conflict to peace. The other works document the Chinese-occupied Tibetan city of Lhasa, growing up in America with HIV, and the aftermath of war in Bosnia.

16. Children's Visions and Voices: Rights and Realities in South Africa - South Africa

This project presents photography by children in South Africa reflecting situations where their rights are threatened or violated. The Children's Rights Centre's documentary researcher Alex Fattal asked children to document their lives through photography, and used the pictures as the basis for oral histories. The material was synthesised in an exhibition that has travelled throughout South Africa.

Contact Alex Fattal info@crc-sa.co.za OR alex@ajaproject.org

17. A Day in the Life of Africa - Africa

A Day in the Life of Africa is a photography project that aims to raise global awareness of Africa by looking at everyday life of Africans through the lens. The project organiser David Cohen of San Francisco says the project aims to portray Africa as a place of hope rather than a place associated with famine and war.

Contact Gina Privitere gina@oneafricanday.com

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The Soul Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

Please send material for The Soul Beat to the Editor - Anja Venth aventh@comminit.com