African activists trained in video and media advocacy in Cape Town

Prior to the Africa Policy Week in Cape Town, South Africa; IDPC, SANPUD and Drugreporter organised Video and Media Advocacy Training in the city.

The young drug reform activists arrived from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Unfortunately two participants from Nigeria were denied their visas at the last minute, and could not take part in the event.

Between August 9-12, The video training, held by István Gábor Takács covered the topics of video advocacy theory, gear, camera handling and composition, interviewing techniques, and editing. On the second day, with the help of SANPUD, trainees could visit a harm reduction drop in centre and an outreach program, where they could practise their newly acquired videography and interviewing skills. On the third and fourth day they used each other’s footage to learn editing on the trial version of Premiere Pro CC 2023, using rented laptops. There were giveaways as well: They got a clip-on microphone that works with both cameras and phones, and a pen-drive that included useful resources such as all the presentations, videos, and background materials from the course, as well as free editing software and editing tutorials. By the end of the course, almost all of them produced their own first video.