Participatory Media Essay

Participatory media includes practices that empower community members with knowledge and technical skills to create visual, audio, theatrical, musical and textual representations of social, political, economic and cultural issues affecting them, with the aim of stimulating dialogues, experiential learning and social change. Participatory media practices are closely linked to participatory action research (PAR), whose core aim is community empowerment for social change which was developed out of the need to liberate marginalised communities from oppressive socio-economic structures and empower them to influence positive social changes in their communities. By incorporating the participants into iterative processes of research, PAR goes beyond

The, participatory media production processes feature collaboration between the lead researcher and other members of the community, who become the participants. Most decisions pertaining to production and circulation of the proposed media content are jointly made by the researchers and the participants. The cooperative and dialogical nature of participatory media practices has been known to ignite social change processes that have had effects on attitudes, behaviour, perception and policy change in communities. Participatory media is rooted in stimulating change processes by presenting issues in a manner that elicits constructive dialogues, counters stereotypes and enhances non-violent conflict resolution. Through participatory communication processes, marginalised parties are empowered to project their stories and create images or sounds that counter negative labels and affirm their commitment to peace, as was observed in project for homeless people in Australia in collaboration with

I believe it can be a very important and powerful tool for change. In participatory media, the audience plays an active role in the process of collecting, creating and sharing media content. The processes involved in the visual methods are as important, if not more important, than the final products. Over the course of 2 months we worked with a pro-bono centre in Brisbane, Queensland to help them document the reality of homeless people in Australia. Video placed in the hands of the pro-bono centre acts as a catalyst and a mirror, initiating a process of community–led analysis, reflection and change. It fostered an open and trusting relationship between facilitators/researchers and participants giving a clear signal that they are in control and their knowledge matters. Although stories may not provide all the answers, I believe that what is gained through their telling is important. They connect us to issues and to one another through the power of a narrative and the experience of