Videomaker Fellowship Job Description
OMPT needs enthusiastic people with impeccable video skills and a passion for social activism, people who want to put their video knowledge to good use helping underprivileged people in the global south to create a brighter future. As an OMPT fellow, you will travel to locations in South America, Africa and Asia to connect with either OMPT founder Matt York or representatives of OMPT’s local NGO affiliates in helping train local activists in the care and use of video technology. You will be responsible for training local volunteers in the use of PICO projectors and other video equipment that will be vital to the dissemination of critical educational material in the impoverished hinterlands.
We work with the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) in Haiti, CEASPA in Panama, School to School International in Guinea, and Digital Green in India.
That’s not all. In India, Digital Green (www.digitalgreen.org) used OMPT equipment to record live demonstrations of the best new agricultural practices; it then distributes these movies via DVD to small local farmers. In Sudan, we worked with the Education Development Center (http://www.edc.org/) and Southern Sudan Interactive Radio Instruction (SSIRI) Project to develop videos to train new school teachers, a vital first step in a largely illiterate nation whose educational system was all but destroyed during a bloody civil war. All around the world, OMPT is making a difference through video.
OMPT works with teachers, activists, graduate students, social entrepreneurs – really, people from all walks of life! There’s no typical OMPT fellow because there’s no such thing as a typical OMPT project, as OMPT is constantly looking for new ways to make a difference through video. The one constant is our commitment to using the full potential of video to be a force for good and meaningful change. As such, a deep understanding of video technology is a must for a fellow. Fellows are primarily responsible for training on-site volunteers in the use and care of PICO projectors and other video equipment. As a fellow, you will serve as OMPT’s eyes and ears on the ground. In your work, you will observe local NGO partners to ensure that OMPT equipment and resources are being used to meet OMPT goals.
An OMPT fellow is a vital part of our organization. An OMPT fellowship is an unpaid volunteer position. An OMPT fellow:
- Works closely with OMPT contacts or local NGO affiliates to promote the use of video as a tool for social change
- Train local affiliates in the use of PICO projectors and other OMPT video technology
- Observe local NGO affiliates to ensure compliance with OMPT goals
- Report observations to OMPT
- Record observations and results to gauge effectiveness of OMPT ventures
An OMPT fellowship is more flexible than a traditional fellowship, and we will work with new and exciting new video projects. For example, we support the work of Stanford poli sci PhD candidate Jessica Gottlieb in Mali, where she is encouraging rural poor to become more involved in the political process in hope of bringing lasting change to the country. Gottlieb believes that improving voter information could increase government accountability in new democracies from the bottom up. Ultimately, her work is strengthening this fledgling democracy by ensuring that even the most marginalized people take an active interest in making sure that their government truly represents them. If you have a video project that can promote social entrepreneurship and activist in the developing world that you believe would interest OMPT, contact us at XXX. OMPT is willing to work with serious, dedicated volunteers to tailor projects.
