WE HAVE A NEW WEBSITE!

PLEASE CLICK HERE to see our new website

OUT OF ORDER ?

What is out of order you may ask… well to put is bluntly over 1 billion people around the globe to do not have access to running water[1].These people routinely drink unhealthy contaminated water which is the result of poor water management, insufficient sanitation or even apathy on the part of those you do have access to clean water because of their economic status.

Poor water quality and bad sanitation are responsible for over 5 million deaths annually as a result of water born disease and related issues[1]. Furthermore the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are 1.4 million child deaths annually from diarrhoea as a result of poor water sanitation and quality[1].

This is all avoidable if the appropriate funds, sustainability, management and effort from people like you, are put to use in all the right places. The point of this campaign is to make people aware of what it is like to live without the pleasurable convenience of running fresh water, that slight amount of inconvenience felt when seeing the out of order notice is something that over a billion people feel everyday of their lives, lives which are made much shorter as a result of this. So next time you flush or slide over to the basin, remember many people, people who live in this very town do not have the same privilege or human right…

[1] http://www.who.int/features/qa/70/en/

In response to our 'Out Of Order' campaign

This is an email that was sent out earlier today, Mon 6th October. The response from Mr Alfers is the exact kind of panic we are aiming to achieve with the 'Out of Order' campaign.

CMP media campaign causes havoc in AMM. See below …(Rod Amner)

"Someone has pasted 'Out of Order' notices on all the devices in the men's
toilets in AMM.We have investigated and can find no malfunctioning
equipment.

Does anyone have any details about what exactly is out of order?Or is this
a yet another experiment for news dissemination, now that the internet is
passé?"

Joe Alfers
Technology Manager
School of Journalism & Media Studies

OUT OF ORDER

by Thyla Nel

Imagine living in a world where you have no access to water and everyday life becomes a constant struggle to acquire this simplistic life source which we take so for granted.

The aim of the OUT OF ORDER CAMPAIGN is to show people what it would be like not to have easy access to water on an everyday basis. We will be placing “out of order” signs on all the bathroom doors around campus and diverting the students from easy access to the ablutions. This is an active/radical campaign to get people to experience what many people not so far away from our luxurious campus experience on a daily basis. The OUT OF ORDER CAMPAIGN will then document the reactions of individuals who come across this inconvience. Thereby, placing the students in the shoes of those who do not have water on a regular basis.

Some further story ideas

Firstly, blog looks amazing. Well done team!!!

I want to throw out some ideas for the interactive wall we are creating. I think that maybe we should set up comment boxes in public areas around Grahamstown. Just a simple box where we ask the public to add simple comments and opinions on the water. Also it can collect complaints that we do not know about.

We can then take those boxes and hopefully there will be interesting comments, straight from the people. These can then be used as quotes that can be added to the wall or to create further story ideas that can be investigated for the writing people. I think good places to put these boxes would be Pick n Pay, Checkers and maybe even police stations.

Also when out and about keep an eye open for short stories that need reporting, for example if you find out in one of you interviews for radio or TV that someones neighbour is doing something, pass that along, we are there to add that little bit extra to our production that everyone cannot cover.

Duncan

Our Design Vision

Our vision as designers is to create visually engaging and interesting print media that will make members of the Grahamstown community think about and critically explore possible solutions to the problem of water quality and shortage in a local, regional and national context.

The target audience of this information campaign will be all members of the Grahamstown community, from those that are directly affected by low quality water, to the middle class that perhaps has the power and means to affect change, and the Makana Municipality which can make policy changes regarding water quality.

The WED productions for this project will be comprised of two main elements. The first is an interactive wall poster which will be tiled over a fairly large area and which will showcase developments, issues and activities along the Kowie River. Our design vision is to use a large map as the backdrop for the poster, with points plotted along the map where photos and text will be placed concerning an activity or concern we came across at that point. This map will be interactive, allowing people to post their experiences and thoughts concerning water quality and access. The design of this poster should be eye-catching, but the focus of the poster will be the photographs and text, so the design elements will be of secondary weighting.

The second media product will be a flier which will take the form of a social marketing tool, aiming mainly to conscientise people and make them aware of environmental issues surrounding the Kowie River. Through the use of social marketing we aim to plan and implement a programme “designed to bring about social change using concepts from commercial marketing” (Social Marketing Institute). The flier will be a two sided flier. One side will have a statement and eye-catching picture while the other will be explanatory, detailing the focus of our campaign and project. This flier has greater potential for creativity as the front of the poster must be bold and eye-catching, with its design being just as important as its textual content, to visually draw the reader’s attention.

What We're About

Vision, Mission & Objectives

• PR’s for Kowie Catchement due to the lack of support from local business and authorisations (working with them not for them).
• How is Joza’s water system being processed in comparison to the rest of Grahamstown
• Water quality
• We want to educate, mobilise, promote devel0pment and sustainability, knowledge
• Caring for the health of our community and our local rivers

Type of Journalism

• Alternative journalism: independent from KCC, working with them but not for them

Values

• Being independent, working with the KCC but not for them
• Talking to people who are affected as well as those in power
  

From the WED side...

Hey guys,

Thumbs up for setting this baby up :-)

On the Writing & Editing and Design side of things, I attempted to call May (the new GRASS president) a few times today but there was no answer. I then tried the outgoing president of GRASS. The river clean-up is happening NEXT week, not tomorrow...
They've been having a few admin issues with the handover processes of the new comm and what not, so the plan then would be to go on the clean-up with them next week.

At this point, since there is no clean-up this week, we can do some of the ground work before then and go down to the river ourselves like we discussed this morning (Duncan, Jenna, Lindy, Warrick, Thyla, Tumi). We can get some stories, photos, etc.



I have our Vision, Mission, Objectives, etc. (the stuff Sarah noted in the first meeting) posted on the blog so everybody knows what we're about. If there are any additions or changes then it can always be edited.