Slum Cinema Project Kicks Off in Zimbabwe

Mbare, where the launch occurred. Photo by Ethel Kabwato

A new project named Slum Cinema has just begun in Zimbabwe. Funded by BasicViews Foundation (Netherlands), the project aims promotes "the screening of feature films and documentaries in slums and deprived areas for the purpose of creating awareness of issues affecting such communities, for example, HIV and AIDS, human trafficking, peace and conflict, migration, teenage pregnancies, youth human rights issues, bullying in schools, alcohol and drug abuse."



The program coordinator, Ethel Kabwato, has said: "These screenings are followed by discussion forums which aim at engaging the youth in dialogue and raising awareness of communities, stake holders, policymakers and decision makers and thereby enabling them to contribute to policymaking and employment creation."

"Slum Cinema (Zimbabwe) realises that film is a widely accessible medium that can reach those with limited literacy skills and has the added advantage of cutting across all age groups (both male and female)", writes Kabwato.



The organisation was launched on the 16th of June at Mai Misodzi Hall in Mbare, Harare. It will help youth excel in telling their own stories using video, digital photography, mobile phones, audio recorders and other web based technologies. All video reports are uploaded on the international Slum Cinema exchange web and database network and shown to members, communities and other audiences.



According to Kabwato, "Slum Cinema would have bridged the information gap in the slums and deprived communities by using the media as a tool for development."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FREEDOM, a poem on South Africa by Afzal Moolla

Freedom The shackles have been cast off. Chains broken. People once squashed, under the jackboot of Apartheid, are free. Free at last! Freedom came on the 27th day in that April, 1994. Freedom from prejudice. From institutionalised racism. From being relegated to second-class citizenship. Freedom came and we danced. We cried. We ululated as we elected our revered Mandela. President Nelson Mandela. Our very own beloved 'Madiba'. Black and white and brown and those in-between, All hues of this rainbow nation, rejoiced as we breathed in the air of freedom and democracy. Today we pause. We remember. We salute. The brave ones whose sacrifices made this day possible, on that 27th day of April, 18 years ago. Today we dance. We sing. We ululate. We cry. Tears of joy and tears of loss. Of remembrance and of forgiveness. Of reconciliation and of memories. Today we pause. We acknowledge the tasks ahead. The hungry. The naked. The destitut...
Read more

Importance of African Languages in African Literature

Once in a while, I check  the search engines terms that are driving the most traffic to my blog, Wealth of Ideas, and the searches are often revealing of what kinds of information people are looking for  at any time. Today, of the several interesting ones,  "the importance of African languages in African literature" stood out. It's a topic I too am passionate about. I have written about it before in a post entitled " Language in African Literature ", but even this doesn't begin to cover the most important facts about the issue. Perhaps one day I will write treatise on the topic of language in African literature, and mini posts like this are my way of mapping a project description. But now let's go to some serious stuff on African languages in African Literature. Let me start by saying that I am annoyed by glossaries. Their intent seems to be to appeal to a foreign audience, or, most importantly, to any speakers for whom the glossaried language is for...
Read more

Abuja Writers' Forum Call for Submissions

Wordsbody has announced the following call for submissions: CAVALCADE literary journal, devoted to publishing original stories, poems,one-act plays, reviews, critical essays and art from an African perspective,will debut in October 2008 with a special edition. The tri-annual journal, a project of the Abuja Writers' Forum (AWF), is now seeking submissions for the second and third editions. Deadline: October 30, 2008 See more details here: Contribute to Cavalcade.
Read more