PROJECT TITLE: _Think Build Change Salone Initiative(TBCS)

YOUR NAME:   __Vickie Remoe-Doherty____________________

TITLE:  _TBCS Program Manger____________________________

YOUR ORGANIZATION: _Sierra Visions, Inc______________

 

Why are you seeking Rising Voices funding? How will your project benefit the community you are targeting? (100 words)

 

Seeking funding to highlight, record, and share the implementation of the Think Build Change Salone Initiative in Sierra Leone. The TBCS Initiative introduces youth in Sierra Leone to the tools and thoughts they need to be actors of Social change so that they may participate in Sierra Leone’s postwar rebuilding efforts. The Initiative will provide young people with ICT training and paid internship positions with local non-profit organizations so that they may gain work experience and contribute to development projects. Interns will also travel to different parts of the country to conduct citizen media outreach workshops. Additionally their participation in this initiative will change the generally held belief that youth in Sierra Leone are idle and destructive.

 

What kinds of news, stories, information and other content will your project provide? Describe your vision for the content. (250 words)

 

The interns and program manager will be responsible for providing content but most of the burden will be on the interns. Program Manager will assist interns in format, and technique. The content will cover the implementation of the TBCS Initiative, intern experience at local NGOs and highlight different communities as they deal with different socioeconomic issues. Interns will be responsible for identifying the communities and issues they want to highlight.

 

The Vision for the TBCS Citizen Media Outreach Project is that it will cover such issues as health, environment, democracy, post conflict reconstruction, women’s issues, Information technology, education, government accountability & transparency, community development, and much more but entirely from the perspective of young Sierra Leoneans who may otherwise not have an outlet to express their views and experiences.

With this project we aim to put a more holistic image of Sierra Leone to the International community that goes beyond blood diamonds, Charles Taylor, and amputees.

 

Who will generate the content? Who is the target audience? How, and how often, will it be distributed? What language(s) will it be available in? (300 words)

 

Interns will generate content for the project from local communities and from their internships at NGOs. Though the target audience for this project is the International community, it is more specifically geared towards the 500,000 or more Sierra Leoneans who are displaced all over the world as a result of the civil conflict. The content provided by the interns will show the many positive developments are happening in Sierra Leone and also highlight the thousands of individuals who are contributing to the nation’s development. We will show the sierra Leonean community in the diaspora and beyond that Sierra Leone is back in business and making strides.

Working in groups and individually interns will use audiovisual and written tools to gather and present their stories. Interns will become narrators, translators, and storytellers of ongoing struggles and efforts for social change and development.

 

Using the material they collect they will conduct workshops in urban and rural areas to introduce underserved communities to the ideas and tools they use to gather and provide content.

 

Daily and weekly updates will focus on the implementation of the TBCS Initiative, while weekly and bi-weekly updates will focus on the interns’ community project and NGO presentations.

 

Content will be provided in Krio (lingua franca in Sierra Leone) and English.

 

What kinds of participation and interaction do you expect from the readers/listeners/viewers of your content? How will you encourage participation? (75 words)

 

We expect different levels and types of participation and types from audience.

All readers, listeners, viewers will be encouraged to add comments and reactions as well as influence content by providing suggestions and questions. Audience will also be encouraged to interact with interns via email or on the project site. We will encourage participation from Sierra Leoneans in the diaspora by advertising on online community portals such as the visit sierra leone website

 

To encourage local participation in the media outreach project we will advertise on community radio, create and distribute flyers, provide refreshments at workshops and give pre-paid internet hours to participants who sign up and attend the workshops.    

 

What is your knowledge of your target community? Why are you the best individual/organization to lead this project? Do you have prior experience in citizen media outreach? (100 words)

 

Sierra Visions has three years experience providing free ICT training in the form of workshops, seminars, and classes in Sierra Leone. The organization also has local corporate sponsors who provide computers and internet services for trainings.

 

Also as program manager, I have been involved in development related activities since 2003. I also maintain a blog and website on several Sierra Leonean issues. Additionally as a young person I am more accessible to my peers and also my elders.

 

Sierra Visions has some experience in media outreach but not in this capacity. However, we hope that by partnering with global voices that we will learn from GV resources and best practices in the field.

 

 

We will need computers with internet access, video recorders, digital cameras, and mp3 voice recorders to produce content. Led by a group of Sierra Leonean professionals, Sierra Visions has extensive experience in ICT, education, and human resource development.

 

Our technical needs include video recorders, digital cameras, and mp3 voices recorders (corporate sponsors in Sierra Leone will provide computers and internet access for workshops and training)

 

How will you measure and evaluate your project’s impact – on your main participants? other contributors? on the larger community? How many participants do you expect to be involved in your project? How will you seek and sustain their involvement? (200 words)

 

 

1. We will evaluate impact on main participants (interns) based on their level of participation (quality and frequency of the content the collect). We will also use a pre and post evaluation tool to assess how their level of participation and access with online media tools change over time.

2. Seek international involvement from the Sierra Leone community and beyond by using Sierra Visions’ website which averages 22000 hits a month, visit Sierra Leone website which is the premier Sierra Leone online community, and by outreach to various Sierra Leonean organizations in the diaspora. We will also use HI5, Facebook, Myspace and other community networks to promote our content.

3. We will assess and evaluate media outreach workshops based on the number of participants and self reported post workshop knowledge.

4. Assess larger community based on comments on project website, feedback and contributions from the audience

5. We expect to reach thousands of people at home, abroad, and in the international community.

 

10 Interns (provide content and run outreach media workshops with program manager). 6 two-day workshops (Bo Town, Kabala, Makeni, Moyamba, Port Loko) with 25 participants each. 18 one-day workshops (Freetown) 25 participants each. And thousands of visitors to the project site.

What challenges do you expect to face, and how do you plan to overcome them? (200 words)

 

Challenges include electricity shortages (which can be reduced with the help of generators), recruiting non traditional participants (women, physically disabled, and socio-economically disadvantaged) in the media outreach workshops. We will encourage all of these groups to participate in all of our print and radio ads and provide resources to alleviate financial obstacles to workshops such as transportation.

We will also have literacy and language barriers so we will make our ads available at the lowest reading levels and provide announcements in multiple languages. Interns will be a great asset as all students in Sierra Leone learn how to read and write in local languages.

Though cultural and local attitudes to ICTs will act as a barrier to access, interns who are from Sierra Leone and aware of those local attitudes will develop material that will encourage participation and change some attitudes.

 

 

 How do you plan to sustain your project's content after the Rising Voices funding has ended? Detail specific plans. How do you plan to raise revenue to continue your efforts in the future? (300 words)

 

The Think Build Change Salone Initiative is a three year long initiative and so it will continue after the Rising Voices funding has ended. Though we may not be able to continue to do media outreach on a national scale after the funding ends, subsequent interns will use the tools that we purchase this year to continue to provide content and past interns will serve as trainers to new interns. Additionally we hope to continue our partnership with Global Voices so that we may increase our knowledge of citizen media outreach and best practices.

 

Sierra Visions has applied for funding to several foundations to cover all TBCS program costs for the next 3 years. We will also look to local partnership and sponsorship. The TBCS Initiative also has individual donors all over the world.

 

Finally interns can raise funds locally and internationally by selling DVDs and photos of their work.

 

What resources and support can Rising Voices provide to your project to ensure its success? (200 words)

 

Rising Voices can provide training materials, proven methodologies and best practices for citizen media outreach, assistance in publicizing intern efforts once the project is up and running, feedback on content, and funds to purchase equipment and run workshops.

 

 

Detail a specific budget of up to $5,000 for two years of operating costs. Applicants are encouraged to submit budgets for less than the maximum $5,000 as smaller grants allow us to fund more projects. Hosting fees and curriculum resources will be provided by Rising Voices and therefore need not be included as budget expenses. Potential costs might include hardware, internet access, workshop costs, translation, travel, and coordinator expenses.

 

 

*Based on Sierra Visions past workshop costs for 2 day workshops ($67 for 2 workshops)

David Sasaki. Email: outreach@globalvoicesonline.org