Why is community important?
This week at Incite Video we are approaching the end of our campaign for the Power of Community Documentary. The love and praise that we've received for the project have been overwhelming and it's given us a lot to reflect on.
One thing that has become more and more apparent throughout my time within the Microsoft ecosystem is the sheer strength of the community. However, the importance of that very same community has never been clearer to me than when I was in South Africa.
Most notably was when we stopped off at the University of Fort Hare. The purpose of the time we spent there was to give the audience a chance to speak to us; to let them know that they were just as much a part of the community as the experts paying them a visit. It was important for us to drive home the idea of education through participation and that this was an opportunity for them to ask any questions they might have had – something that didn’t come around every day for a lot of the people in the areas we visited during our trip.
It was perhaps because of this absence of community that the need for it was so glaringly obvious. These people were missing out on a lot of what technology could do for them simply because they didn’t know what the full capabilities of the programmes were and there was nobody around to teach them. Even in terms of user groups and meetups, access is very limited, and it’s crazy to think about how much potential is being wasted purely because the community hasn’t touched down properly in these parts yet.
When it comes to why the 365 Tour ZA takes place and the significance of it all, it’s very easy to understand when you take a closer look at days like the one we spent at the university. People in the community feel so passionately about projects like this because by bringing the knowledge to these remote locations and sharing it with the people there ensures no one gets left behind. That is what we mean when we talk about the power of community.
You can watch The Power Of Community documentary for free online by visiting www.video.incite/power-of-community .