My town - My story

 
Waiting for fish

Waiting for fish , Hoi An City, Quang Nam province © Dang Hoai Nam, 2016, 2016

Objectives

The project helps to increase the proactive role of local people in solving their problems, particularly problems that are related to living environment and impacts from natural disasters and climate change. 

Background

The project is implemented at 03 communes in Hoi An City with 03 community groups, leaded by women.  These community groups will be trained on “proactive communication - story telling via movie” approach to tell stories about environment and the interaction between people and environment at their town in collaboration of independent movie makers. Pro-active communication tool - story telling via movie promotes community’s participation in accordance with the road map of capacity building - empowering – management enhancing. 

Target beneficiaries

  • 60 community members trained
  • 03 commune communities in Hoi An city

Outputs

The project has achieved its goals of building 03 community groups that are capable of storytelling by movies, from which they learn to love their own town and have more awareness in protecting the place they live. Members who join in movies making are simple-minded farmers; however they have become more confident in communication and can raise their voice in issues like protecting nature and natural disaster risks reductions.

The three community groups including local women and young independent film makers who know how to produce a short movie from drafting concept, building scripts, shooting and editing and organizing movie display events.

The movies have addressed environmental issues and local life in Hoi An in the context of challenges of climate change and environmental change. The project also conveys messages about desires and expected solutions from community, such as local awareness and promotion of producing organic food and safe, clean source of produce.

Accomplishments and challenges

The project shows an innovative way for women to tell their stories, their concern and aspiration for their life, particular for those who are not familiar to speak out in public. This approach also enabled the youth involved in the filming, which then show their experience, motivation and love with nature, the interest for environmental protection through green agriculture practice. The content of films came over the conventional issues of disasters and climate change and how people have coped, however they draw the simplified stories with facts through normal life from the local community, which then provide strong messages about the environmental issues and people aspiration in the environmental challenges and changes. 

Local community have participated more into solving issues that are related to their living environment. After the project finished, young people from the team have expressed their wish to make more movies and seek their own connection with GreenViet (local NGO) to join in protection activities for Son Tra peninsular in Da Nang City against the risk of being concretized. Local women suggested these youth to come back and make more movies on “rubbish pollution” topic in Cam Kim commune. During the end of project survey, 100% of the women said that they were willing to make similar movies if they have chances.

Ms Man from Cua Dai team shared that before Cua Dai ward has sent requests to Hoi An City council three times to build worship tombs, but were not approved. She said “Now when we finally get the approval, I think that the movie have helped to raise the wish of local people and local authority also have listened to them. People are no longer afraid.”

Women who join the project have become more confident after making movies as they feel they can learn new skills that they never think they are capable of (directing, making movies…), and female team members also learn more skills such as shooting and editing shorts. The process of making movies and showing them have brought more confident and self-pride for movie makers.

The movies have received a lot of attention from facebook community, and wake up the attention from most people in Da Nang – Hoi An. The movies are appreciated by many people and they wish to use them for showing students, local community and replicated to other areas. After watching these movies, VTV8 have given some compliments for the movies and said they wish to develop more movies on the topic of coastal/ marine areas based on the ideas of these movies.

 

Contributions to cross-cutting themes

Gender: Female team members feel much more self-confident as they have gained some skills from working with the project. Local women are particularly recognized and praised by people from their commune/ward and families, which makes them believe in themselves and are more motivated to partake in other local community works. Some men in the village said that these women seem to be stronger now. After watching the movie “Farmers mean freedom” a man said “Watching this movie makes me realize that these countryside women work so hard and I feel sympathy for them”. This shows that these movies have had positive impacts on male groups and change their view of women. 

Lessons Learned

Thanks to the team’s patience and ability to pick suitable topics, the project has succeeded in implementing awareness raising activities for local people and farmers. Engaging men is also an important strategy in empowering women. The filming process has engaged the involvement  and support from male participants.

The project created a learning environment for team members to share knowledge and help each other to make progress in various aspects such as team work, knowledge and shared concern about living environment.

Project deliverables are good material for education and can be used in other places to approach more people. This is a creative way of raising awareness and serves as good lesson for other project to learn from. Using movies helps to convey messages to more people and create better impact on them. 

Project Facts

Country

Location

Hoi An City, Quang Nam province

Topic

Duration

1st Mar 2016 to 1st Mar 2017

MFF Grant Amount

USD 238,495,000

Co-financing Partner

Hoi An Women’s Union 

VND 88,700,000  

Implementing Partner

Hoi An Women’s Union 

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