We look back to the aftermath of a pandemic which lasted longer than anyone could have predicted -those many team meetings held over Zoom instead of gathering together in our Oxford office and the impossibility of working with our Indigenous partners in the field -it was a tough start to the year!
As you read about some of our projects, you will sense a refreshing mood was set for InsightShare in 2022: mailchi.mp/insightshare.org/i.... In essence, the nature of the work we have been doing for over 22 years is locally led, challenges the status quo, is multidimensional. InsightShare exists to shift the power!
Locally led because people are at the centre of everything we do. Our heart and inspiration come from Indigenous peoples, particularly through our extensive long-term work to seed community video hubs. In our constant pursuit to move away from top-down systems and create meaningful locally-led change, we consciously shift the power towards our Indigenous partners. We place their wisdom and knowledge at the heart of our work. Without them and their firm conviction for working towards reconnection with Mother Earth, we would not be here. We stand in solidarity, we are against neoliberalism and for humanity.
Challenging because we keep pushing boundaries across our sector, opening eyes to the realities we’ve witnessed since our first projects in 1999. This year we have been following and lending support to our siblings from various Indigenous communities across East Africa, as they organise across borders to build relationships of resistance to neocolonial conservation practices imposed by governments and so-called ‘conservation’ organisations. Our work builds on centuries of community resistance to European imperial powers, a violent model which perpetuates through neocolonial power structures. Many of the communities we work with in East Africa use participatory video to challenge and resist this destruction.
Multidimensional because we work with people of different age sets involved in multiple spheres and fields of work. This year alone, we have been involved in 19 projects, in 48 countries, producing videos in 19 languages: Arabic, Baka, English, French, Guarani, Ju|’hoansi, Lango, Lugosa, Luganda, Maa, Mooré, Ogiek, Portuguese, Samburu, Sengwer, Spanish, Swahili, Xhosa and Yemba.
Do you want to use participatory video in your work? Get in touch at info@insightshare.org 📧
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