We've finally arrived in Nigeria. Luckily without any hassle by officials we've been able to bring a lot of camera and sound equipment for our video training. Some muscles are acking though, because we were allowed to carry 2 times 23 kilo each, plus hand luggage. And still we had to blink with our pretty green and blue eyes at the ckeck in counter at Schiphol, because we were a bit overloaded.

First some background information about the project. During the next blogs we'll be able to add some more about our personal experiences (and pictures and video..).

Nine women from the Niger Delta in Nigeria are involved in a participatory research and video project analysing the lives and experiences of women in the Niger Delta: FEMSCRIPT.

Why? Because so far women are hardly visible in stories about (conflict in) the Niger Delta. Yet, women’s lives are impacted by the ongoing conflicts in many ways.

That's why the particpants (women aged between 25-35) will learn to analyse how women’s human rights are affected by the conflicts. It might even offer them possibilities to participate more powerfully in efforts to stabilise and develop the region.

How? During the FEMSCRIPT project, the nine women from different States in the Niger Delta will be equiped with a comprehensive set of skills and tools to make their voices heard all over the world: they will be familiarised with human rights concepts, acquire basic research skills, and learn how to make small video documentaries.

By whom? MIND invited Stichting FLL to collaborate as video trainers. MIND (Media, Information, and Narrative Development) is a Nigerian non-profit, non-governmental organisation. Its mission is to stimulate young people in Nigeria – especially women – to re-envision their lives and the world they inhabit through imaginary use of media, information, and narrative development.

When? Tomorrow we'll fly down south to the Niger Delta where the participants first will have a follow up of their research course. On Monday the video workshop gets started. We'll try to update you on a regular basis - mostly depending on the availability of electricity and internet.