Project proposal for training of grassroots comics trainers (ToT)

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Grassroots comics - A community information tool

(A project for grassroots comics tutor training and support to grassroots comics campaigning in country x)

Background: World Comics has successfully introduced the concept of grassroots comics as a community information tool in many parts of India and Africa. The concept is that NGOs and community activists themselves produce low-cost, limited-edition comics for campaigning on different issues, such as hiv/aids, human rights, gender, environment, etc.

Overall objective: Increase grassroots communication on the local level. Support the local debate on various issues.

Project objective: To train staff and activists of “organisation X” to become tutors of grassroots comics workshops, and capable of running comics workshops independently within their own organisations.

Project duration: two years.

Expected results: Each project year, 30 tutor-trainees will be trained (alone or in teams) to run local grassroots comics workshops or courses within their own organisation’s network, and to produce comics (wallposter and other photocopy formats) for local information and educational campaigns. In addition, training material and a collection of comics will be published within the period.

Project activities:

1. Prepare xx-language training material on grassroots comics, the concept, the procedure, the formats.
2. Run annually a main tutors’ training workshop with the organisation’s staff and activists. The workshop prepares the participants for running their own local comics workshops.
3. Immediately after the annual main workshop, the participants will run their own local follow-up workshops (in teams of 2-4) in four locations with their own test groups (12 - 15 participants). They will be backed up by one resource person in each location.
4. The organisation supports the local production of grassroots comics within its network by distribution of funds for paper, pens, photocopying, etc.
5. The training material is finalised after feedback from the main workshop and prepared for printing on the second project year.
6. The comics from the organisation’s network is collected and compiled into a publication (second year).

Outside resource persons:

• Person A (comics as a community tool)
• Person B (teaching of comics)
• Person C (teaching of comics)

Local resource persons:

• Person D (local comics artist)
• Person E (interpreter, if necessary)

Organisation’s coordinators, catering, transport etc. as required

Main workshop

Participants: Staff/activists from the Organisation, maximum number of participants: 30

Main workshop programme:

Day one:

• Why it is clever to use grassroots comics
• The basic requirements for a comics workshop
• The inexpensive comics formats which can be used by NGOs
• Teaching participants to stress visual storytelling
• NGO-inputs needed in a comics workshop

Day two:

• How to focus on the issue, messages, and desired results
• Identifying the target group
• How to choose appropriate comics format
• Different methods of making the stories - exercises
• Turning the stories into visual scripts

Day three:

• Finalising scripts and starting artwork
• Artwork stages - sketching, inking and corrections

Day four:

• Artistic inputs needed in a comics workshop
• Steps in the production of comics
• Exercises of setting up workshop schedules

Day five:

• How to give individual feedback and support to participants
• Distribution of comics in the community
• Collecting feedback from the community
• How to arrange critique sessions - exercises

Day six:

• Expanding the grassroots comics concept
• How to plan a comics workshop - exercises
• How to write a comics workshop project
• Exercises and final discussions
• Evaluation

Workshop venue: xxx hall, should have proper tables and chairs, white- or blackboard, and OH-projector. A data-projector and/or Internet, would be useful, but are not necessary.

Duration: six days

Follow-up local workshops: The newly trained resource persons will form teams (4-5 persons) and invite up to 12-15 local participants for a four-day workshop in their own areas.

One resource person will back up each team.

Follow-up local workshop programme

Day one:

• Grassroots comics samples and the concept
• Drawing exercises
• Focus on the issue, messages and desired results
• Identifying the target groups
• Making the stories

Day two:

• Turning the stories into visual scripts
• Wallposter comics artwork

Day three:

• Inking final artwork
• Corrections

Day four:

• Critique sessions
• Copying and distribution of the comics in the community
• Workshop feedback and evaluation

Duration: four days

Support for campaigns with grassroots comics during the project year:

The organisation will have a special fund from which support can be given for paper, pens, photocopying, etc, so that the new tutors can run their own workshops and campaigns. The comics can be made either in small workshops, in the evenings, or as a part of some regular activity.

Responsibilities of the three organisations

Organisation X (main applicant):

• Overall project administration and coordination with the local partner organisation and World Comics -group.
• Application for funding, project payments, accounting, and financial reporting to the funders.
• Publication of comics produced within the project.

Local partner organisation in country X:

• Identifies workshop participants for tutor-training
• Identifies participants for local comics workshops, max. 15 persons for each of the four locations
• Makes arrangements for main workshop
• Makes arrangements for four follow-up local workshops
• Coordinates and distributes support (paper, pens, photocopying etc) to the organisation’s network for continued production of grassroots comics during the year
• Collects comics that are produced in the organisation’s network during the two-year period, and publishes a collection of them.

World Comics group:

• Prepares in language xx a manual on how to make comics as well as other tuition material
• Identifies and instructs resource persons
• Advises on material purchases and other preparations
• Runs the workshops, together with the local team
• Makes a report on the workshops