Africa's Climate Conflicts: New Video by Yale Environment 360 and MediaStorm

MediaStorm scores again, with a multimedia project produced for Yale Environment 360, a publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

It's called "When The Water Ends: Africa’s Climate Conflicts."

The 16-minute video is about nomadic herdsmen in Kenya and Ethiopia who, because of climate changes that have depleted water supplies, now battle and kill each other over water and grass.

It's "a tale that many climate scientists say will be increasingly common in the 21st century and beyond — how worsening drought in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere will pit group against group, nation against nation."

But the story recounted in “When the Water Ends” is also about how deforestation and land degradation — due in large part to population pressures — are exacting a toll on impoverished farmers and nomads as the earth grows ever more barren...

The herdsmen who speak in this video are caught up in forces over which they have no real control. Although they have done almost nothing to generate the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, they may already be among its first casualties.

According to MediaStorm's site:

Photojournalist Evan Abramson, 32, spent two months traveling and living among these tribal communities. "When the Water Ends" is Abramson's first multimedia piece, and he captured several voices and communities during his reporting. He shot over 10,000 photographs and interviewed several tribesmen and leaders from local NGOs. Yale Environment 360 commissioned the project and asked MediaStorm to produce a video that also included interviews from the scientific community.

Watch it here.

*****
Want to learn how to produce multimedia the MediaStorm way? Enroll in one of their 2011 New York workshops.

* March 5-11, 2011 (application deadline January 7, 2011)
* July 23-29, 2011 (application deadline May 27, 2011)
* November 12-18, 2011 (application deadline September 16, 2011)

Over the course of a week, participants will work in three-person teams, reporting and editing in collaboration with a seasoned multimedia professional to produce a multimedia project for distribution across multiple platforms. Each team will produce a professional-quality, ready-for-publication multimedia story.

Go here for more info.

Ruud Elmendorp: Videojournalism in Africa

Ruud Elmendorp, a Dutch videojournalist in Africa, writes about his professional experiences:

Before 2000 I was the typical television reporter coming with a crew. When the small digital cameras entered the market I took the challenge to do it on my own. As early video journalists we for some reason were forced into an innovative and creative approach. We had to do something different [than] the traditional crews, and so we did.

That was before I moved to Africa.

Here I saw that almost every television person is a video journalist. Most local television channels cannot afford full crews, and they depend on one-man-bands. ...

Being a VJ is about logistics.

In many African countries you have to a be a video journalist to move around. In remote areas it’s difficult to travel with a full crew, or you have to rent an expensive 4×4. A VJ can hop in local transport, or even board humanitarian or military flights taking the last and only, lucky-for-you, seat.

There are so many times it happened to me like that, and on arrival you’d discover that none of the traditional crews had made it there. That’s of course best, and it happens often.

It’s the same with borders. A video journalist can easily cross since the camera will be stowed away in your backpack, and no customs officer will bother. No need to fill out temporary import forms, or to pay deposits. They just consider you a tourist.

Being a VJ is about press freedom.

In several countries in Africa the press is free, as long as it doesn’t criticize the government or other big entities too openly. It means that when things get dirty, it will become difficult for journalists to get there.

The fun part about it is that you will not openly be denied access. They let you go through friendly but lenghty accrediation procedures. If you get accredited at last, the event you were looking for will be long gone. Most journalists by then will have moved to other things to report on, and that’s what they’re aiming at.

Still, in the end your accreditation will only be a piece of paper, or a stamp. On the way you will find roadblocks manned by police officers who of course never heard of it, and can only let you pass after paying a hefty bribe.

The video journalist would be long back from shooting that same event, by being one of the passengers on local transport....

Read Ruud Elmendorp's full report here. Visit his website here.

Win a Trip to Africa with Nicholas Kristof

For the fourth time, New York Times Op-Ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is inviting students to enter an essay contest to win a reporting trip with him -- this time, to Africa next spring, "to cover issues of global poverty -- and their solutions." (Watch his video here.)

It's a rare opportunity for an aspiring journalist to be mentored by one of the best in the business, at a time when good mentors are disappearing fast.

As his legions of fans are aware, Kristof is a world traveler extraordinaire, whose adventures have taken him through many of the planet's developing countries, and have been documented not only in his columns but also his excellent videojournalism reports (which can be sampled on KobreGuide's New York Times channel).

Kristof's penchant for Third World treks began early; in the photo above, he is traveling in Sudan while a grad student. In short, contest applicants should not expect five-star luxury accomodations.

It won’t be comfortable or glamorous. Maybe we’ll interview a president, but far more time will be spent squatting in thatch-roof huts, listening to villagers.... This contest reflects my conviction that the best way to open minds and hearts to the world’s challenges is to see them, hear them, smell them.... If you win, you won’t be practicing tourism, but journalism. You’ll blog and file videos for nytimes.com, and you’ll bring a powerful reporting credential that I can’t: fresh eyes.

Only one can win, but as Kristof points out, "any of you can put together your own journey."

Some past entrants, frustrated by my own poor judgment in failing to select them, have consoled themselves by buying an air ticket to Uganda / Thailand / Bolivia. ...If you don’t win my trip, go ahead and win your own.

LINKS:

Contest info.

Contest video.

Enter the contest here.

Upload video here.

Win a Trip With Nicholas Kristof

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, whose video reports are proudly showcased on KobreGuide, invites students to enter a contest for a reporting trip to Africa this spring.