FELLOWSHIP CYCLES

Fellowship  2002  |  2003  |  2004 |  2005 |  2006

2006 FELLOWSHIP

The fourth cycle of the Imaging Our Mekong fellowships began with an opening workshop in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2006. Present were twenty-one print and photojournalists and eighteen television practitioners from the countries of Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. With the addition of the 39 fellows, there are now over 120 fellows who have been part of the Imaging Our Mekong media fellowship program. This year, aside from the support provided by the Rockefeller Foundation (Southeast Asia Bangkok Office), additional support was provided by the Open Society Institute (Zug) for the participation of television practitioners from Myanmar.
In this four-day session, a variety of issues on transboundary topics were discussed, including special sessions on avian flu. There were also some sessions on storytelling by photographer Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh and investigative journalism by Yvonne Chua from the Philippines. The topics helped spur discussions and provide ideas for the fellows who, after the workshop would be travelling the region to produce reports on transboundary issues.
Fifteen television practitioners then travelled to the Philippines for a technical workshop on documentary production. In a span of 20 days, the fellows were provided with lectures and hands-on training on documentary production. It included a trip to Davao city where they produced short documentaries on topics on art and culture, ethnic communities, child labor and even cockfighting.

	By October, all 39 fellows are busy back at their own media organizations and also working on their transboundary reports for the Imaging Our Mekong fellowship. By February 2007, the fellows are to meet again to present their reports.

2005 FELLOWSHIP

The Mekong media fellowships, supported mainly by the Rockefeller Foundation Bangkok Regional Office and the Japan Foundation, started its fourth phase in April 2005. While keeping to its core aim of building capacity toward coverage of transboundary issues as a result of regional integration and development, as well as awareness of these issues, it also 'expanded' through integration of the documentary and print/photojournalism tracks into one programme with a new, combined name - Imaging Our Mekong. Up till February 2005, the programme was being implemented in two tracks by two media groups - Probe Media Foundation Inc. (PMFI) based in Manila, and Inter Press Service (IPS) Asia-Pacific based in Bangkok.

PMFI conducted the program for documentary filmmakers (Imaging the Mekong) and IPS ran the programme for journalists and photojournalists (Our Mekong: A Vision amid Globalisation). Today it is one media programme with three media - print, photojournalism and film, as part of the integration that is both natural to the programme and also encouraged by the Foundation. Including the participants in the fourth cycle of the programme, IOM has now worked with more than 110 fellows from the six Mekong countries - China, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Burma In September, 30 media practitioners from Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, after their selection for the programme, gathered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for a four-day workshop on Mekong issues. After the workshop, the 17 print and photojournalists started work on their stories on transboundary issues, while the 13 television practitioners travelled to the Philippines for a three-week technical workshop on documentary production. After this, they are to start the production of their documentaries.

The fellows gathered in Luang Prabang, Laos for a three-day peer review program to present their articles, photo essays and documentaries. The topics of this cycle's fellows include exploration of the changes brought by globalisation and open borders on the lives and culture of ethnic groups like the Akha and the Dais, a look at Chinese development assistance to Lao PDR, a story on how poor health infrastructure and services drives Cambodians to neighbouring countries, Cambodian child beggars in Vietnam as well as Lao and Chinese labour migrants to Vietnam. Products of this cycle are a book entitled "Crossing Borders" and a DVD "Imaging Our Mekong Documentaries 2005".

2004 FELLOWSHIP

IMAGING THE MEKONG FELLOWSHIP TRAINING 2004: Redefining Documentary Production in the Region

Bottom L around to R – Thipthavong Thongsay (Laos), Prapai Kedsara (Thai), Moul Sophorn (Cambodia), Le Thi Huong (Vietnam), Aye Naing (Myanmar), Joey Ayala (speaker), Santi Ruamwanit (Thailand), Khampasith Leuambounheuang (Laos), Li Xin (China), San Win (Myanmar), Lu Bin (China),Nguyen Thanh Son (Vietnam), Chhor Veasna (Cambodia), Khieu Sansana (Cambodia) and Doungphaykeo Mitthingaphone (Laos)

Last May 31, fourteen television practitioners and artists from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan-China stepped foot on Philippine soil to participate in the third round of the Imaging the Mekong Documentary Fellowship 2004. Their month-long training was a crash course in documentary production and eye-opening news on issues in the Mekong region. What has happened Experts from the region shared their knowledge on different issues to enlighten the fellows on cross-border issues. Mr. Jaques Ferreira of the Asian Development Bank Greater Mekong Region Sub-Unit gave some information on infrastructure, economy and development. Mr. Hans Guttman of the Mekong River Commission shared environmental impacts of projects on the region. Rex Varona of Asian Migrants Center discussed the situation of undocumented migrants in the Mekong. Jeanne Hallacy of AsiaWorks, Bangkok helped the fellows put everything together and guided them in selecting their documentary topics on cross-border issues.

The sharing of past fellows Vannaphone Sitthirath of Laos and Lach Chan Tha of Cambodia was instrumental in the fellows understanding of cross-border issues and the difficulties of production.

Vannaphone shares the fellowship has taught her to look beyond just day-to-day work. She now sees the responsibility media people have in shaping and developing the region. The importance of earning the trust of people you interview, i.e. Lao women trafficked to Thailand, and keeping that trust. She shares that to this day, she checks up on the women who were part of her documentary “Their Corner of the Sky”

Mr. Tha stressed the importance of focusing on cross-border issues in their documentary production. He shared the difficulties he faced when creating his documentary “Children at the Crossing”. It was hard for his group to get visas and permits to shoot in the Thailand side but he knew that this was necessary for his story to be complete. He strongly urged them never to give up to despite the limitations their media environment poses. He said that it was his group’s passion to help the children that melted that hearts of interviewees.

Filmaker Ditsi Carolino shows proper camera composition

Experts from the Philippine media industry and academe, who are also recognized internationally, took time out to share their knowledge and experiences with the fellows as well: Chay Hofilena of the Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism gave them a perspective on the the regional and Philippine media situation. Doy del Mundo, Chair of De La Salle University Communications department, gave a refresher course on documentary production – opening their eyes to the many styles of docu production. Luz Rimban of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism gave eye-opening reports on the power of investigative journalism. Cheche Lazaro shared her expertise in interviewing, while Twink Macaraig of Channel News Asia evaluated their interview exercises. Luchi Cruz-Valdes of ABS CBN Network shared her talents in writing for video. Ditsi Carolino was their guide in videography - giving them tips on how to improve their camerawork and how to get better sound. Producer Daphne Tolentino helped them understand the language of editing.

The gruelling lecture sessions and hands-on exercises were put to the test by giving them a chance to produce their own documentaries. They took a 15-hour bus/ferry ride to the beautiful island of Boracay Island in the Visayas Region.

This experience helped the fellows understand the difficulties and challenges in creating a documentary. They were not tourists in Boracay, they were keen observers and storytellers. The fellows were divided into four groups and covered issues on infrastructure and development, ethnicity, youth and identity and livelihood. Instead of enjoying the Boracay sun and surf, they were hard at work climbing mountains of garbage, meeting young Boracaynons, talking to with poor fishermen and listening to the struggles of the Indigenous Ati community.

The group composed of Vietnamese and Cambodian Fellows interview a woman from the Ati Cultural Minority in Boracay

After the shoot in Boracay, time went by quickly. The fellows were hard at work transcribing interviews, shot listing their videos, writing their scripts and editing their final work.

Their masterpieces were screened in the goodbye dinner and evaluated by peers.

A month of working together has bridged age gaps, knowledge gaps and language gaps, and has created bonds across boundaries. As they said their goodbyes, they said that they were sad to go home but looking forward to applying their new skills and working on their cross-border documentaries.

What to Look Forward to

These fourteen new fellows take part in the growing Imaging the Mekong Documentary Fellowship network, making them 38 in all.

This growing number of media practitioners in the region concerned about the cross-border situation in the Mekong is a major accomplishment. It just means that there will be more sounds and images to contribute to a Greater Mekong Sub-region.

The bulk of the documentaries to be produced this year are focused on women and children trafficking. Aware that there are many other important cross-border issues, the fellows had strong feelings towards this topic. We expressed this concern to the fellows and we gave them time to research in their own country. By September, we will have a final list of the documentaries.

During the actual production, the fellows plan to work together across borders, such as a Vietnam-China partnership to work on their story. This is something that we have been encouraging but have yet to see done.

In the joint media media forum (with IPS Asia-Pacific) scheduled in early 2005, we shall see documentaries tackling women and children trafficking, animal trafficking, HIV/AIDS in the region, displacement and other social issues in the region. That will make an impact in the improvement in the region.

2003 FELLOWSHIP

IMAGING THE MEKONG DOCUMENTARY FELLOWSHIP 2003
Sounds and Images for a Greater Mekong Subregion

The Mekong River, 4,880 kilometers long, flows from the Tibetan plateau down to China’s Yunnan Province, through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and out into the South China Sea. These countries make up the Greater Mekong Subregion, an area covering 2.3 million square kilometers and is home to 240 million people and more than 100 different ethnic groups.

Fellows of 2003 Fellowship with Thai speaker Anan Ganjanapan. (Standing L-R) Krirk Prachakul, Tun Tun Oo, Thananuch Sanguansak, Anan Ganjanapan, Vilay Xayyaveth, Lach Chan Tha, He Yuan, Buon Sone Vieri (translator), Phan Ngoc Chau, Le Pham Minh Quy. ((Seated L-R) Luy Savuth, Chin Lyhorn, Sinthamala Lanavanh, Keohavong Viengkhone, Cho Cho Khine and Zheng Han

The countries in the Subregion, though geographically linked have such different histories, political and media environments. One common factor is their thirst for improvement and their openness to non-traditional ways to develop the region. Seven men and seven women journalists from the Mekong Region took up this challenge and crossed the sea to gather in the Philippines for the “Imaging the Mekong Documentary Fellowship” conducted by the Probe Media Foundation, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and The Japan Foundation. Their goal was to create video documentaries for the development of the region. The Fellowship begun with a month-long training seminar and workshop administered by the most respected and award-winning journalists, broadcasters and filmmakers in the Philippines and Asia. Lectures and exercises were on scriptwriting, interviewing, videography techniques, editing, investigative journalism and critiquing.

Experts and advocates on issues such as tourism, migration and anthropology and social development in the Mekong were also invited to share their experiences and research to enlighten the Fellows on the issues and concerns of the region. All this prepared the Fellows for the creation of their own pieces.

The fellows conduct interviews in Baguio City for their documentary production.

The fellows crossed the sea once more to return to their countries with a five-month timetable and sub-grants to create documentaries on cross-border issues. Over the course of the production period, the Fellows were in constant contact with the Probe Media Foundation in the Philippines through emails and telephone calls, finalizing topic outlines, scripts and edits. The finished documentaries were written in the Fellows’ own languages and subtitled in English. Their topics ranged from the environmental effects of the Vietnam fishing villages on Cambodia, the impact of Thai media on Lao culture, smuggling and child labor from Cambodia to Thailand, the eradication of drugs and the drug problem between China and Myanmar and trafficking of women from Vietnam to Cambodia.

The Fellowship culminated in a Joint Media Forum and Peer Review in Bangkok, Thailand in February 2004 where the Fellows’ documentaries will be previewed and evaluated by media professionals. It was in cooperation with the Inter Press Service (IPS) whose fellowship “Our Mekong” trains print and photojournalists on in-depth reporting on cross-border issues in the Mekong. The forum was a good venue for sharing of experiences and enriching the network of media professionals concerned about developing the region by addressing cross-border issues. Imaging the Mekong documentaries will be scheduled to air over their television stations in the region and copies are to be distributed to the region.

Facilitator Jay Orense orients the fellows in using a linear editing machine

The documentaries created provide real, current, and relevant images and sounds of the Mekong in these significant times.

These documentaries not only aims to widen the expertise of the region’s journalists and filmmakers but are expected to stir the interest and appeal to the region’s governments, policy makers and organization leaders to move and do something about the problems presented.

Hands across borders - the fellows participate in team building exercises to get to know each other and break boundaries.

The Fellows attest that in the fellowship, new lessons were learned, skills were improved and friendships across borders were forged. The giant leaps across the sea to the Philippines were essential in objectively looking at their region and claiming it as their own. They say that it didn’t matter whether you were Lao, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Burmese or Chinese. They knew they belonged to the same region and had to work together in order to become competent videographers, reporters, writers and producers of reports across the borders, for the development of a Greater Mekong Sub-region.

2002 FELLOWSHIP

MEKONG MEDIA FELLOWSHIP EXPERIMENT: Testing documentary training inMekong Region and the Philippines

MMFE fellows with filmmaker/artist Kidlat Tahimik. (L-R standing) Phan Than Vu, Co Van Tai, Sancha Hansana, Peter Yan Jadie, Heng Chan Thol, Kino Sitthirath, Kidlat Tahimik, Phiphat Phamouang, Libay Cantor. (Seated L-R) Hoang Van Long and Lim Van Chan

The countries in the Mekong region (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan Province of China) are among the poorest in the world. Illiteracy rates are high in these countries. Basic education, health and sanitation, and cultural preservation are the least of their priorities. The basic human instinct to survive pushes them to earn a living through whatever means. They live a hand-to-mouth existence day after day, and they constantly dream of a better life like the ones they see in the media. And the media, particularly television, has always offered them an escape. The high impact of images and sound makes television highly effective in moving their emotions. Most people saw video and television as a means to entertain and escape, the Mekong Media Fellowship Experiment (MMFE) tests the theory that video will also be able to move people to action. And what could move them more than their very own stories, told in their own language, and by their own people?

An experiment is meant to test theories and obtain results. The Mekong Media Fellowship Experiment (MMFE) tests the feasibility of a simple idea: empower people by letting them tell their own stories through documentaries.

The Philippines is the training ground for the Mekong fellows. Philippine media enjoys a reputation of superior broadcast communication skills and talent. Philippine press is free, hard-hitting and bold, while media in most of the Mekong countries is still heavily controlled by their governments. Philippine media also has its share of practitioners who abuse the freedom and power of the press and are vulnerable to bribery, blackmail and corruption.

It is in these strengths and weaknesses that may provide our Asian neighbours with excellent samples for learning.

Documentary Filmmaker Howie Severino shares his expertise in videography

The MMFE is a first time venture for the Probe Media Foundation, with the financial support of the Rockefeller Foundation, in terms of a documentary production fellowship in the Mekong, and therefore, an experiment in all senses of the word. From June 2 to 24, 2002, the ten participants or fellows received hands-on training in all aspects of documentary production -- script writing, videography, camera handling, directing, reporting and editing, with emphasis on journalistic ethics and social responsibility. The sessions were held in various areas in Luzon, namely Laguna, Manila, Baguio and Hapao, Ifugao province. Though the lectures and activities were important, the most valuable lessons were from the sharing of cultures and media experiences of the fellows.

Distinguished journalists, broadcasters, filmakers and artists Cheche Lazaro, Howie Severino, Chichi Fajardo-Robles, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, Booma Cruz, Fruto Corre, Kidlat Tahimik and Joey Ayala took time off their busy schedules to impart their talents, knowledge and experiences with fellow Asian media practitioners and artists.

The fellows left the Philippines on June 25, 2002 carrying with them freshly produced documentaries, new ideas, experiences, friendships, and a sub-grant to create another documentary in their home countries with their partner fellows. Within four months, the fellows planned, researched, interviewed and shot their stories in their countries. They sent their tapes over to their Philippines for final editing of their documentaries. The topics were on Culture vs. Development in Vietnam and Cambodia, Women Trafficking from Lao to Thailand and Environmental Degradation in Vietnam. In November 2002, the fellows regrouped to view their films in a media forum in Thailand. Guests from the media and academe screened and reviewed the films: Lawan Jirasuradej (Thail Filmmaker), Metha Sereethanawong (Professor at Chulalongkorn University), Johanna Son (Inter Press Service Asia-Pacific) and Cheche Lazaro. Their comments were used to improve the fellows documentaries. The finished films were then compiled into CDs and distributed throughout the region.

Lao Fellow Kino Sitthirath shoots inside a hut in Hapao, Mountain Province

Though the documentaries in the MMFE required much improvement, many have found merit in the efforts to link journalists in the region to focus on issues beyond the borders of the Mekong. The Rockefeller Foundation acknowledged this effort and has decided to continue to support the project for the next few years, thus providing more opportunities to create sounds and images toward a Greater Mekong Subregion.

The fellows of the 2002 training are Phan Thanh Vu and Co Van Tai (Kien Giang Television and Radio Station, Vietnam), Hoang Van Long (Department of Agriculture, Dak Lak, Vietnam), Heng Chanthol and Lim Van Chan (Reyum Institute for Arts and Culture, Cambodia), Vannaphone Sitthirath (Lao National TV), Phiphat Phamouang (Lao Youth Media Board) and Sancha Hansana (Lao National Film and Video Archive), Peter Yan Jadie (GMA Network News) and Libay Linsangan Cantor (Literary writer and videographer, Philippines).