Deadline 31 October 2022
CIVICUS is a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world. Established in 1993, since 2002 we have been proudly headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with additional hubs across the globe. The Alliance currently comprises over 12,000 members in more than 175 countries.
CIVICUS is looking for five talented grassroots activists to develop compelling, powerful and inspiring human stories that highlight specific aspects related to the resourcing realities, needs and visions of grassroots activists and groups. This is a perfect opportunity for grassroots activists who have a passion and proven expertise and experience in producing short videos or animations to promote social causes.
What is a grassroots activist?
Grassroots activists, organisations and movements are those who work in the frontlines with and for their communities, using collective action from the local level to promote positive change at the local, regional, national, or international levels. Grassroots groups are associated with bottom-up rather than top-down decision-making and structures and are often more spontaneous (even informal) than established civil society organisations.
Objective of this collaboration
Support grassroots activists to develop compelling, powerful and inspiring human stories in video format, that help humanise grassroots activism and put in the spotlight the resourcing realities, needs and visions of grassroots activists and groups. These stories will contribute to and be promoted as part of the Grassroots Solidarity Revolution campaign.
Scope of work and deliverables:
Each selected activist is expected to develop and produce one video story (3-to-5 minutes long, with a complementing written version and five photos) that covers at least one of the following topics:
- Challenges or opportunities faced by grassroots activists in building meaningful relationships and solidarity with local or international funding and enabling organisations. Enabling institutions include for example international NGOs, national (non-grassroots) NGOs, media and government institutions, academia, among others.
- Challenges or opportunities accessing funds/resources to support activists’ mental health and well-being.
- Stigma or toxic narratives facing grassroots activists which negatively affect their access to resources, support for their activism and personal well-being.
- Humanising activism and activists.
- Funding/resourcing opportunities or experiences that have supported and celebrated your grassroots group’s visions, autonomy, agency and agendas.
- Innovative ways in which your grassroots group is funding/resourcing their work, visions, autonomy, agency and agendas, and how funding and enabling organisations can support these initiatives.
- Key role and powerful impact of grassroots activism and why funders and enablers must provide more and better support for it and build strong and equitable relationships with grassroots activists.
The key deliverables for this assignment are the following:
- Develop a video or animation story proposal and work plan which will be reviewed and approved by the CIVICUS resourcing team before the content is produced. Please note that the video or animation length should be three minutes minimum and five minutes maximum.
- Provide a rough cut of the video or animation for review and feedback from the CIVICUS team.
- Participate in three group meetings: one to meet all the selected storytellers, a second to exchange ideas and discuss proposals and a last one to share final insights and experiences after producing the stories.
- The final deliverables are (a) the final 3-to-5-minute video or animation, (b) a complementing written version of the story of around 500-600 words (this would be published as a blog with the video or animation) and (c) at least five high quality pictures that portray the activists and groups featured in the video doing activities related to their activism (to be discussed in the case of animations).
Candidates profile and experience
- Proven experience as a grassroots activist and must be actively participating in a grassroots organisation, group or movement. NB: Please note that proposals from audio-visual producers who are not grassroots activists actively participating in a grassroots group will not be considered.
- Proven expertise and experience in producing high-quality and compelling audio-visual stories (video, writing and photography).
- Experience in organising projects, meeting deadlines and thinking critically.
- Knowledge of civil society resourcing issues relevant to this assignment is desirable.
Expected time frame
Selected activists will have eight weeks to produce and deliver their stories.
Budget
Selected activists will receive a USD 5,000 grant to remunerate their time and cover production expenses.
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