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About the Don Snowden Program
Who was Don Snowden?The "Fogo Process" began in 1967 on Fogo Island, a small island outport fishing community off the Eastern coast of Newfoundland. At that time Donald Snowden was director of the Extension Department at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. He led a process whereby community members were able to articulate their problems, ideas and vision on films that were later screened to community members at facilitated community discussion forums. Through the films, the people of Fogo Island began to see that each village on the Island was experiencing similar problems and became aware of the need for community organization. The films were also used to bring distant politicians face-to-face (or face to screen) with the voices and visions of people they seldom heard. Government policies and actions were changed, the people of Fogo began to organize, and the history of the Island changed forever:
With Snowden's vision and support, together with the talents of film and video producers from Canada's National Film Board (NFB), the "Fogo Process" was incorporated within the NFB's innovative "Challenge for Change" program and "The War on Poverty Program in Canada." By the mid-1970's Snowden and his colleagues were being asked to experiment with the "Fogo Process" in various parts of North America (especially in the Arctic and Alaska), Africa and Asia.
In 1983 Snowden was asked
by the Canadian International Development Agency to explore the possibility
of using small format video and the "Fogo Process" approach to bring together
the physical engineering and social interests concerned with small-scale water
control structures for improved agriculture in Bangladesh. It was while working
on this project that Snowden died suddenly in Hyderabad, India on April 4,
1984. He was in India to attend the first meeting of the National Council
for Development Communications, an organization started by Dr. V.K. Dubey
which had grown from Dr. Dubey's work with Snowden on a previous project in
India.
What do we do?
The Program supports a number of initiatives including:
Consulting and project activities around the world, including current work with the International Development Research Centre, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Canadian International Development Agency, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Industry Canada, Bell Canada, SR Telecom Inc., and the TeleCommons Development Group.
DevMedia website - http://www.devmedia.org - a cutting edge information sharing resource for people working with media for development and democracy.
Compiling, archiving and making accessible on the web, resources on Canada's communication for development heritage, including the "Fogo Process," "Challenge for Change," "National Farm Radio Forum."
A three year institutional strengthening project with the Development Support Communication Centre in Dikirnis, Egypt (funded by CIDA).
Editing and publishing a book on "The First Mile of Connectivity: Advancing Telecommunications for Rural Development through a Participatory Communication for Development Approach" in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
