PARTICIPATORY VIDEO FOR INCLUSIVE RESEARCH
Opportunities & challenges identified
Manon Koningstein
Shadi Azadegan
With support from Jennifer Twyman, Iddo Dror, Simon Cook
CIAT Internal Conference, ICT4D
October 13th, 2015
Cali, Palmira

Summary
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVS8rTlA
NsM&feature=youtu.be
• PV provides for clearer understanding of the
challenges the world's rural poor (men and
women) are facing.
• Adapt development strategies and policies to
local needs, knowledge and wants.
• Inclusive

Summary of projects
• Financed by CIAT, CCAFS, Humidtropics and ILRI
• First pilot conducted in Somotillo, Nicaragua on young
farmers’ perspectives on agriculture & climate change.
• Second project in Estelí, Nicaragua, with young rural
women.
• Currently, working on e-course, whiteboard animation
and information brochure on the use of PV for inclusive
research across the CGIAR. T
• Current project phase is funded by the Capacity
Development team of Humidtropics/ILRI, led by Iddo
Dror.

PV as a communication tool in
Participatory Research
• Allows to present assessment of their own words (Traber &
Lee 1989: 1).
• Support process of empowerment (Kindon, 2003).
• Create narratives through which can communicate what really
want to communicate, in a way they think is appropriate
• Participants gain understanding of their situation, as well as
the confidence and ability to change that situation (Servaes,
2007)
• Reduce gap between researchers and reality (Kane, 1995).

Improvements in the communication
framework through the use of PV
• PV provides for awareness-building of the PV-makers
• Inclusion of marginalized groups
• It can affirm the ingenuity and perspective of society’s most
vulnerable groups
• Linking intellectual and emotional reasons to reach
community adaptation
• Multiplatform and are accessible and available
• No literacy required
• 83% of learning occurs visually (Lester, 1996)
• Provide for interaction where otherwise impossible

Challenges
• Quality of the video is less appealing
• How can we make sure to reach policy makers
• Small scale research information
• Workshops are quite time-consuming

Lessons learnt
• Eight days is the maximum amount of time of the
workshop.
• Exercises need to be quick and inclusive. S
• When mixed, girls and women tend to be less
outgoing.
• Creative ways of separating by gender
• Sensitive to the ongoing criticism around PV, and
strengthening the academic use and viability of
this tool, and make it a truly inclusive research for
development tool.

Conclusions
• PV is an adequate tool for (agricultural) research
for development
• Higher degree of possible social change than
mainstream research approaches
• Allows understanding the local needs, wants and
knowledge of local and/or marginalized
populations.
• Cultural limitations, small scale, less esthetic
quality

References
• Traber, M & Lee, P. (1989) Video for Animation and conscientisation. Media
Development 36(4): 1
• Kane, E., (1995). Seeing for yourself: Research handbook for girls' education in
Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
• Kindon, S. (2003) ‘Participatory Video in Geographic Research: A Feminist Practice
of Looking?’ Area. Vol 35 (2) pp142-153.
• Koningstein M., Azadegan S. (2014) Participatory Video in Somotillo, Nicaragua.
CCAFS Working Paper no. 100. CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,
Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). Copenhagen, Denmark. Available online at:
www.ccafs.cgiar.org
• T.J., Servaes, J. & White, S.A. (eds).Participatory Communication for Social Change.
New Delhi & London: Sage Publications, Ch. 11.
• Photocredits: Manon Koningstein (CIAT), Gian Betancourt (CIAT), Shadi Azadegan
(CIAT)
• Youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLsuRqCWdZI,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHQl3zrnzgw