Gugulethu Men’s Wellness Centre PSA

A Story-driven Participatory Video film made by Sonke Gender Justice community mobilisers and facilitators in 2015. This film was the outcome of a learning process to build skills on participatory video facilitated by Tamara Plush, University of Queensland’s Centre for Communication and Social Change, and Thea Shahrokh, Institute Development Studies with guidance given by Joanna Wheeler, Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation.

We describe ‘Story-driven Participatory Video’ as a facilitated community engagement and mobilisation process that uses filmmaking as a catalyst for awareness-raising, personal and group development, confidence-building and strengthening voice. The main intention is that the storytelling and filmmaking process spurs dialogue that feeds into wider social and behaviour change efforts. In other words, the approach is not about teaching people how to make their own films; but rather a community engagement and mobilisation process that rests on four cornerstones: group development and relationship building; appropriate technology; personal and collective storytelling; and dialogue.