Digital Natives Video Contest
The Centre for Internet & Society and Hivos are pleased to announce the top 21 shortlisted contestants for the Digital Natives Video Contest. Videos will be online soon! Voting begins from 10 March 2012.
The Everyday Digital Native is inside each of us.
You THINK Digital.
You CONNECT using digital devices and gadgets.
You ACT Digitally, always clicking, linking, tagging and Liking.
You know what it means To Be Digital. It's simply a way of life!
Tell us your Digital Story. What makes your life so click-worthy?
 |
 |
 |
 |
...AND we have our Top 21 shortlisted contestants!
Video Proposals: Top 21
Here are the ideas from our 21 digital native video contestants:
|
|
Joseph Francis |
 |
Lyuba Guerassimova I want to explore the border between the urge to act and the collective irresponsibility created by online media. In initial stages of the spread of digital communication methods, they can empower, and if used smartly, they can create changes even in the more digitalized communities/countries. However, there is a big 'but': collective irresponsibility - the potential for change has in many societies become diffused into pointless social networking, which creates only passive supporters for a cause but does not lead to any positive action. I want to look at the choices we have to make and how we can learn from communities that are not so digitized in order to 'remember' where our power for change lies. Read More |
 |
Marie Jude Bendiola I come from a third world country where technology seemed to be hard to reach back in the 90s; especially by the not-so-privileged. As we progressed, technology has not only become ubiquitous (in malls, various institutions and technological hubs) but also, it has come to be used by the common man. My video will answer how technology bridges the gap between dreams and reality. It will be a fusion of documentary and re-enactment of real life events and dramas. Read More |
 |
Cijo Abraham Mani The power of digital media will be presented to audience with the help of showing tweet-a-thon panel discussions, blood aid tweets getting spread, etc. Read More |
 |
Sandeep Kr. Singh & Aakriti Kohli Through this video, my team member and I want to explore how Internet, broadly, can be used to circumvent offline censorship. The idea is to explore how social networking sites could be sites of ‘agency’ for digital natives. Objective: We feel strongly towards making a case for ‘free and fearless speech’ and making a case against censorious minds and the practice of censorship. Rationale: The issue of censorship is an important concern for us. In order to be a mature democracy that India aspires to be, we need reform, not only in the archaic and colonial law, but also in its reading and the mindset which aims to nip in the bud any dissent. If we let the repressive state elements take root it will not leave room for any negotiation through ruptures, which may offer resistance. The power relations that play out across hierarchy, vertically as well as laterally are trying to muzzle resistance and perpetuate a spiral of silence. Read More |
 |
Frank Weaver I create online content to promote good karma, such as Guarani Indian Culture (natives of Paraguay) and environment conservation. I then use social media to raise awareness about those causes. Read More |
| |
Mesfin Gebeyhu There is shortage of water in the area I am living in. But there is one farmer who has an exceptionally abundant access to water. He dug up 27 meters under the earth, hoping as he said, "either to find gold, water or oil”. It is somehow a funny statement but the farmer managed to get water at last. I think the story could teach other people in my country (who have lost hope in their lives) to concentrate on what they want and hope to get something better. Through digital media, I want to reach other people and instil hope in them. My video is a tool for outreach. Read More |
 |
TJ K.M. My video explores the spiritual aspect of digital technology and how rather than getting in the way of our spiritual expression, it is actually bringing us face to face with it, if only we choose to look. The video will be a mixture of live action and stop motion animation/puppetry where digital devices take on a transcendent character similar to nature spirits in various cultures. I plan to investigate the tendency to exclude digital devices and technology from being categorized alongside nature as if it is somehow exempt from or superior to this category. Using symbolism and motifs from various cultures such as the Native American Hopi, Balinese Hinduism and Japanese Shintoism, my video will create a world where the technology we use daily is viewed not just as a means for socio-cultural exchange and communication but is available for the nurturing of our souls if we so choose. Read More |
 |
Ansher Mohamed My video would revolve around a day in the life of a couple and how they love each other digitally. How we express our love has dramatically transformed since the advent of digital interfaces. Their story snippet would be part of a collage of other brief, animated stories where I show people in different places and from varied background go on with their usual activities using digital tools and technology. The video aims to hold a mirror to society and will also be a humorous take on how we live entrenched and enchanted with our digital lives. The more things have changed though, our passions still remain the same; they have just been superimposed on to a different media. Read More |
| |
Mark Diemer I would take on a documentary approach as I demonstrate how technology has made things simpler now than ever before. From the time I wake up to the time that I go to sleep, I would show how I implement different forms of technology in my daily life. Read More |
 |
Mike Hickey My video proposal would be centered on my involvement in the electronic music scene. Over the last couple of years, I have gained a large following across numerous platforms, including YouTube and Facebook that puts me as one of the top promoters of this genre. I am an admin on several Facebook pages that total around 200,000 fans combined. I am a very influential in the music I post and help shape this music scene to what it is. Read More |
| |
Munir Ahmed Musiani The idea behind the video is to reflect the fact of utter poverty. The video has been recorded in a village (Bhit Majao Kuanv) of Balochistan and shows how poor people deal with the onerous task of grinding grain without the right implements or machine. Several other “ordinary” tasks such as storing drinking water, travelling or giving birth to a child all take on a life or death situation in this remote village. The video is aimed at raising awareness about the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and is directed at advocates who work for the cause of human rights. Read More |
 |
Noopur Raval The video is a story about a group of kids with different kinds of disabilities (blind, hearing impaired, physical disabilities, autistic) wanting a fun day of learning and exploration at their neighbourhood Natural History Museum. The group of 6-year-olds and some older kids have heard that it's a cool place to check out first-hand several aspects of nature, biology, physics, evolution, history and culture. However, once they step inside the museum’s premises, they realize that soaking up "learning" isn't as easy or fun as it seemed. The video narrative will demonstrate how the kids solve the problem of “access” to the museum’s collection with a little help from digital technology. Read More |
 |
Thomas Burks We have a small production company in Birmingham, Alabama. I was hired on a year ago to do film and commercials for them as they expand into advertising and video coverage of events. We only have about 3 employees including myself, working out of our homes. We recently acquired a space to open a studio and retail location downtown where we live. We use Facebook, blogs, and viral marketing all the time to get our name out there. Our account executive is constantly monitoring our Facebook for client orders and bookings. We are beginning to use twitter to provide information more fluidly to people. We believe this might be a year of growth for our small company, as we are becoming able to provide much higher quality content. We're fully digital; constantly updating our websites and blogs, and I believe we would be able to tell a great digital story. We submit numerous small films and skits; we cover awesome concerts, and rely so heavily on the digital world to show our content. That will be the gist of our video. Read More |
 |
John Musila Map Kibera Trust is an organization based in Kenya’s Kibera slums. Using digital gadgets and technology, they have transformed the community by placing it on the map as it was only seen as forest when viewed on a map. They also film stories around the community and share them with the world on their YouTube channel and other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Through this they have been able to highlight and raise awareness about the challenges the community faces. Our video would show Kibera’s role in bringing about change. Read More |
 |
Andrés Felipe Arias Palma I think many people are digital natives unknowingly. Being a digital native is a relationship with activism and society, not as they initially thought. It was a condition of being born in specific times and external factors. In the video, I will interview people about who and what is a digital native? How to use the Internet? What are the advantages and disadvantages for society where everything is run with the power of the Internet? Read More |
 |
Joseph Gathecha Black and White is a colour combination for the layman, but intensely they may be used in multiple ways or forms: as signs and symbols, as animations, decorations, and to convey myths, beliefs, taboos and many other concepts. Kibera’s slum, in the surburb of Nairobi, Kenya, is the perfect place to showcase this contrast of extremes and how digital technology is a thread connecting what I want to convey. Read More |
 |
Martin Potter Over a period of nearly four years, moving across small towns in Australia and South East Asia, I have seen the most extraordinary innovations at a local community level. My video will focus on these local stories with global impact. I am pursuing a PhD in participatory media and this will lend a uniquely academic perspective on the concept of collaboration, community life and innovation. Read More |
 |
E. James Rajasekaran I live in the temple town of Madurai in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. I am a social worker and the plight of people living in slims is something that my NGO is closely associated with. My video will bring out the efforts of the people who live in the slums of Madurai. Read More |
 |
Anand Jha Bangalore is home to a lot of technology start-ups. A lot of geeks, who find it limiting to work for corporations, are driving a very open source-oriented, frugally-built and extremely demanding culture. While their products are standing at the bleeding edge of technology, their personal lives too are constantly driven on the edge, every launch being a make or break day for them. The project would aim at capturing their stories, their frustration and motivation, looking at the possibilities of Indian software scene moving beyond the services and back-end office culture into a more risk prone but more passionate business of technology. Read More |
 |
James Mlambo As a digital native living in a developing country l have carried out a series of both online and offline projects which have always strived to benefit Zimbabweans in a number of ways since 2000. These projects have increased my interactions with computers. I got married to the computer in 2000 when I bought my first PC; in a way, my relationship with a computer is now intimate. Even though this computer I bought was an old 386 machine made obsolete by faster Pentium III models, this did not affect my love for this computer. My video will focus on a dream-waking reality moment of my digital life. Read More |
Jury Members
| Shashwati Talukdar Shashwati Talukdar grew up in India where her engagement with theatre and sculpture led to filmmaking, and a Masters degree from the AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Center in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She developed an interest in American Avant-Garde film and eventually got an MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University, Philadelphia (1999). Her work covers a wide range of forms, including documentary, narrative and experimental. Her work has shown at venues including the Margaret Mead Festival, Berlin, Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, Kiasma Museum of Art and the Whitney Biennial. She has been supported by entities including the Asian Cine Fund in Busan, the Jerome Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts among others. |
 |
| Leon Tan Leon Tan, PhD, is a media-art historian, cultural theorist and psychoanalyst based in Gothenburg, Sweden. He has written on art, media, globalization and copyright in journals such as CTheory and Ephemera, and curated media-art projects and art symposia in international sites such as KHOJ International Artists’ Association (New Delhi, 2011), ISEA (Singapore, 2008) and Digital Arts Week (Zurich, 2007). He is currently researching media-art practices in India, and networked museums as an expanded field of cultural memory making. |
 |
| Jeroen van Loon Jeroen, digital media artist, investigates the (non-) impact of digital technology on our lives. For two months he went analogue, refrained from connecting to the World Wide Web, and communicated through his Analogue Blog. He is currently working on Life Needs Internet in which he travels around the world and collects people's personal handwritten internet stories. |
 |
| Becky Band Jain Becky Band Jain is a non-profit communications specialist and blogs on everything from technology to psychology and culture. She spent the last five years living in India and she’s now based in New York. She’s a dedicated yoga and meditation practitioner and is passionate about ICTD and new media. |
 |
| Namita A. Malhotra Namita A. Malhotra is a legal researcher and media practitioner and a core member of Alternative Law Forum in Bangalore, India. Her areas of interest are image, technology, media and law, and her work takes the form of interdisciplinary research, video and film making and exploring possibilities of recombining material, practice and discipline. She is also a founder member of Pad.ma (Public Access Digital Media Archive) which is a densely annotated online video archive. |
 |
Document Actions
Share
|