The annual ICT4D Conferences have proven to be an invaluable opportunity for NGOs, private sector organizations, universities, governmental agencies and foundations to share their experience in using ICT to increase the impact of development programs and to learn from each other. In 2016, 715 individuals from 76 countries and 301 private sector and public sector and civil society explored the ways to harness the full power of digital solutions to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Our thanks to Accenture, Catholic Relief Services, Esri, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, iMerit Technology Services, Inmarsat, IS Solutions, Making All Voices Count, Mercy Corps, Microsoft, NetHope, Oxfam, Pandexio, Qualcom Wireless Reach, RTI International, SimbaNet and World Vision for making that possible.
In this session, I’m going to present how agricultural training videos featuring narrative stories are created. I’m going to share experience on
-developing non-scripted video storyboard,
-engaging farmer actors in co-creating video content
-integrating the technical steps with the narrative stories
Lastly, I will share our evaluation of these videos on the farmers’ learning and testing of the agricultural technology.
Video-based training provide opportunities to rural population to access reliable information about agricultural technologies. However, questions about how to design video content, who to present the messages and what to present are not well explored. Narrative storytelling, as an approach to create video content, normally involves farmers with experience of the technology as actors to share their stories about learning and implementation of certain technology. Farmers actors are encouraged to share personal stories including how they develop the motivations of learning and testing, how they overcome challenges during the testing and etc.,. This kind of video integrates technical content and narrative content together, and intends to psychologically and social prepare the farmers in their technology learning and adoption.
A field test conducted in Malawi shows that, after viewing the video, participants saw connection between the narrative video content (i.e. the farmer actors' appearance, social identity, and constraints described in the video) and their real lives. Moreover, participants were inspired by the narratives shared by their fellow farmers who acted in the video, which seemed associated with their adjustment of existing mindsets about low crop productivity as well as gender relations. For example, women were motivated to overcome the gender stereotype which hinder their testing of the new technology. Such adjustments encouraged participants to consider strategic solutions to overcome the social and cultural constraints of learning and testing the technology.
