StoryMaker™

Initially the app was developed with the idea that it would be implemented in Arab countries. Now that we are exploring th option of working in other countries that are not Arab countries we face the possible problem of not being able to easily adapt the lesson context in other countries such as Zimbabwe.

Some concerns that were raised include some video examples are in Arabic with no subtitles and words such as "revolution" are included in the text which may not be easily overlooked in specific countries.

Below you will find a few paragraphs from our colleage Nada who has strong opinions on this.

"As Brian made me aware of the focus on the Arab world and traget groups, I also paid particular attention to the video examples and other references. In my view, which is in contrast to that of Niels, is that the examples and references used do create a poltical connotation and can have an unwanted politicising effect on trainings elsewhere. In teh case of Zimbawe it woudl have this effect for sure.

Apart from one of the first video examples being a video showing a group of people with flags and banenrs, images of a square with a crowd and people shouting or scanting something, there are words used in the text of the tutorial like "revolution", Egypt. There are also photo images of miltary staff, which may be misunderstood. Also Module 1 starts out by opening with one of the first sentences mentioning events in the Arab world and what difference social media a.o. brought and played in the recent political events. In countries liek Zim you woudl not want to be that explicit. If some of the participants make taht link, that's fine. But we should avoid at all times the possibility of being accussed of regime change. Also the media referred to are clearly Arabic or with arabic news desks. The letters are Arabic. The social media examples are all in Arabic.

In the context of Zimbabwe and any other country with a dictatorial or repressive political system, this is far too political. It also risks to put or scare people off. One should keep in mind that trainings in other countries do not necessarily target the activists of that society. It rather targets ordinary citizens. In the case of Zimbabwe, it woudl be an eclectic mix of community media volunteers, CSO staffa and volunteers, students, etc. Also, if you guys wnat storymaker to be used in countries that are in transition or in developmental countries, the tutorial should be far more "neutral" in tone and show also how citizen journalism can have positive impacts on a countries development, help to start careers, etc.

Apart from the political aspect, there is also the educational aspect. As the video examples are all in Arabic without subtitles, their educational value is practically nil. If you can't understand what is said, you can't analyse the videos. This is of course relevant especially in Module 1 where principles of journalism are explained. There where techniques of light and sound are explained, the language is less to not important. Also examples used in trainings work better if they show two sides of the coin: one example showing "how not to do it" and an example of " how it should be done". In a class room or workshop setting this is really usefull when analysing with the particpants. It also provides insight into who in a group is picking up fast and who isn't."