Ethnographic (per)versions and creative engagement through locally created content

Find a Voice, a multi-sited ethnographic study of - and experiment in - local content creation in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, aims to build the capacity of these initiatives by building capacity to conduct ongoing action research that will help them become more effective.

Abstract

In this paper I present some key findings from Finding a Voice, a multi-sited ethnographic study of - and experiment in - local content creation. We have established a research network across 15 local media and ICT initiatives in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Twelve local Ethnographic Action Researchers are embedded in these initiatives. We aim to build the capacity of these initiatives by building capacity to conduct ongoing action research that will help them become more effective. At the same time, we are experimenting across the sites with mechanisms and tools for participatory content creation. The embedded researchers are both feeding into and reporting and reflecting on these content creation processes. Terms like creative engagement are necessary to describe the ability to create and manipulate multimedia content in ways that serve vernacular interests and enable relatively autonomous cultural participation.