Insights into Participatory Video: A Handbook for the Field

Written by the directors of InsightShare, a United Kingdom/France-based organisation using Participatory Video (PV) as a tool for empowering individuals and communities, this booklet aims to be a practical guide to setting up and running PV projects. Based on the authors' experience using PV in several countries, it offers an outline for facilitators to explore how to use video to encourage a lively, democratic process. Descriptions of games and exercises to introduce PV and case studies are illustrated with cartoons and photographs. A selection of video films made by local people and a training film are included in an accompanying CD-ROM.

Parts One and Two provide an overview of PV: what it is, the history of PV, why use it, how to set up and run a project from the start, the key games and activities for use on projects and a brief guide to editing footage. Part Three shares insights for the facilitator of PV into elements of the process and the participatory ethos. Part Four offers technical tips and a list of equipment requirements. It includes suggestions on "Combining different ICT4D tools (Information and Communication Technologies for Development)", such as combining PV with community radio projects or internet and computer technology. Part Five shares the authors' experiments applying PV with a diverse range of goals: from conflict resolution to innovation sharing; from campaigning to consultation; from participatory research to therapeutic exploration. The Appendices contain personal accounts of PV projects to further illustrate how it works on the ground; Insight's training activities are described and there is a section describing the work of the partners who supported the publication of this handbook; a reference section provides links to books, websites and articles on PV and related themes for those who wish to discover more about PV and how other groups practice it.