Executive Summary:
In 2002 the World Bank asked 60 000 people living on less than a dollar a day from around the world to identify the single greatest hurdle to their advancement. Above even food, shelter or education, the number one need identified, was access to a voice.

Statement of intent: Human suffering in the form of poverty, HIV-Aids, xenophobia, genocide, human trafficking, slave labor, child abuse, substance abuse and the gross distortion of human rights, gets the attention of the international community too late to help the victims. By giving impoverished communities access to a global media voice through film and the Internet, HD can help these communities address their issues and meet their needs. The visual medium is a powerful tool that can be used to deter violence and atrocities, alert the international community to rising developments, to communicate over language barriers and illiteracy, identify hurdles, educate, inform and create social change through public awareness and action.

Solution to eradicating poverty: the solution is as complex as it is wide ranging. A variety of factors need to be considered and evaluated. Access to basic needs such as schooling, healthcare, water and sanitation, electricity and roads; the demographic, environmental, geographic, infrastructural and health challenges, as well as good governance and setting up watchdog bodies to guard against human rights abuses, corruption and exploitation; needs to be considered.

The solution hinges on the need to identify the causes of poverty and to find realistic and effective ways of addressing them. Hillside Digital (HD) is a differential diagnosis tool owned and operated by members of the community in which it is established, it is the answer to the number one need identified to the World Bank; access to a voice for the poor.

Community Producer Units (CPUs) will be created within the community in need and will become their ‘voice’. HD’s model will be replicated around the world in countries that are most affected. Between six and ten people from within their communities, men and women with little to no education and of varying ages, will be identified and trained to be film producers. Community producers will master the tools to create half hour 'news magazine shows' focusing on hurdles to their advancement out of poverty and will document the conditions in which they live. The shows will include segments on culture and local news and community success stories. These programs will address the millennium development goals in the community’s own voice. Local screenings of these programs will provide a forum to find solutions to the community’s problems. The platform will allow social services, civil society and NGOs to disseminate vital education and information to a captive audience.

Training members of the community to become proficient media activists with a media outlet, will deter human rights abuses, create dialogue, unify the community, empower gender equality and ultimately break the cycle of poverty.

HD’s first phase began with the creation of a 24-hour news and information Internet television channel which is currently airing on its Beta website:  www.hillsidedigital.com. As the community producer units become proficient in filming, it is our vision to grow the channel into a CNN / BBC for the poor, bringing news, information and special interest programming from the perspective of the world’s impoverished and marginalized. The television channel will be the focal point of our websites creating public awareness and aiding in the retention of visitors and supporters of HD. Our ability to collaborate with producers around the world in ‘real time’ will allow the channel to host in-depth discussions and debates, invite notable experts of interest, promote the work of NGOs and civil society, highlight cultures, lifestyles and most importantly; create public awareness on a host of issues internationally.
Embedding the videos on HD's and other organization's websites and social networks will not only give the worlds’ impoverished access to a global voice, it will enable the international community to play a direct role in ending the suffering of the impoverished. HD stories will attract funding and donations from international businesses, philanthropic organizations and individuals. The funds will cover producers’ salaries, procure essential items and help to create a network of micro-financing services of co-ops and small businesses. Public awareness, civil society participation, employment and holding public officials accountable, will have far reaching positive results.

Video Volunteers (www.videovolunteers.org), an organization based in India, pioneered community producer units in impoverished communities. Hillside Digital will implement their methodologies to train producers to operate on the ground. Phase 1 of the project will be in a targeted, impoverished region in South Africa: Alexandra township, north-east of Johannesburg, with an estimated population of 500 000.
Welcome to the new media: an Internet portal housing a network of websites with new media applications; e-commerce and benefactor platforms, Google Earth, a ‘real time’ financial ticker, Blogs, Second Life (virtual world) and 24hr news and information channels, representing countries and their impoverished communities on all continents. This includes the highest levels of Internet security, back-end programming, research, development, design and bandwidth.

Organization: Daniel Lurie is the founder of Hillside Digital. He has worked in impoverished communities as a producer and director and has shot documentaries in impoverished communities in Indonesia and South Africa. He is also an accomplished screenwriter and has facilitated courses on writing novels and screenplays. He has worked extensively in production within advertising agencies. He holds a degree from the South African school of motion picture medium and live performance. Co-founder Nadiva Schraibman has written, produced, directed and production-managed documentaries on religion, youth violence, politics and human rights issues locally and abroad. She hosts a weekly radio show on a community radio station. Her qualifications include a degree in English and Comparative Religion and a National Diploma in Fine Art.

Hillside Digital’s model will be replicated in regions and communities around the world that are most affected. The first phase of the pilot program in Alexandra township is a case in point. An urban township beset with social and financial problems, it is characterized by overcrowded living conditions, massive HIV-Aids infection rates resulting in the loss of a whole generation and the proliferation of child-headed households. Crime, unemployment, poor education, extreme poverty, a lack of healthy role models for the youth, child abuse, malnourishment, a lack of infrastructure and poor health conditions; characterize Alexandra.

While the government has made progress in the larger urban townships in South Africa, the situation here is bleak. The community despairs of their situation improving and they feel forgotten.

HDs Phase 1 will give these residents a ‘voice’, identify developing issues of concern, make civil servants accountable to their constituencies, promote capacity building, create employment and promote gender equality. Addressing issues such as corruption, mismanagement and poor infrastructure will impact on the residents of Alexandra.

Working with the local government, a portion of the online donations will be used to procure essential equipment and upgrade infrastructure for the benefit of the township. Additionally, inviting civil society and government services to use screening evenings as a forum to engage the community and address vital issues like health concerns, skills development and agricultural practices, will bring benefit all concerned.
HD trains communities to make their own films based on issues that they would like to raise. Through broadcasting their concerns, we will collaborate with the various specialist NGOs to try and address them.

Project Description:

1. Hillside Digital proposes to, in collaboration with social services and / or local civil society programs, identify and train up to ten local residents of impoverished districts in all areas of digital film production to become independent skilled producers. The producer units will also be trained to lead post-viewing discussions, oversee agreed upon actions and report back to their community.
2. Invite social entrepreneurs to identify skills and opportunities within the district allowing co-ops formed through financial services to create products to be sold in the local market as well as on the Internet.
3. Build an online portal consisting of new media applications; Internet television news and information channels on all national sites, Google Earth with tailor made layers, Blog, photos and On-Demand video, Benefactor and Market platforms, instant chat services, up to date news headlines ticker and a 3D virtual island on Second Life that will house research facilities, conference rooms, virtual and real world products, lecture halls, community centers and a stage arena for live concerts.

By using Mogulus, a broadcasting platform, it is financially viable to run a 24-hour live television station. The channel can be embedded on any business or individual’s website.

Phase 1: HD will work closely with local social services and other relevant role players to identify participants for the project. A ten-month intensive training course will commence on all aspects of pre-production, production and post production. Participants will learn to conduct post-viewing discussions and surveys, oversee plans of action and report back to their communities.

Phase 2: After the first month of training, HD will recruit two experienced film practitioners from Johannesburg to join the training program as facilitators for a period of two months; after which the facilitators will implement the first phase of the project in the next targeted area.
During the training periods, HD will invite notable film-makers and social activists to give one-day workshops in their areas of expertise.
Evaluation: Weekly evaluations will be conducted in the form of group feedback and discussion, peer reviews, film project evaluation, monthly one-on-one evaluation between staff and participants and a once a month external review by an independent monitor, Civicus; of the program as a whole. Once public screenings are implemented we will conduct audience surveys and opinion polls on a continual basis. Constant evaluation will guide HD in improving its standards in operations and quality.

Features:
Internet Television; HD uses Mogulus as its broadcasting platform allowing us to create television studios at a fraction of the cost of mainstream broadcasters; the platform requires only a computer with an Internet connection and a decent camera to begin operation. HD’s home page (Portal entrance) will broadcast its International news and information channel in English collaborating with its sister channels, NGOs and Civil Society around the world. Each represented country’s website will have a national 24-hour Internet news and information television channel focusing on indigenous current events, news, affairs, policies, culture etc. under which its community groups will feature on their own dedicated web pages.

Twitter is embedded next to each television channel and on every community web page; it allows people to chat in real time while watching programs.
On-Demand Video; Every HD Community production unit (CPU) will have their programs available for online viewing and download on their dedicated web pages. The best of which will be available on the national website.

Benefactors Page will be created for every HD CPU web page, national websites and the main international home portal. The inter-connected platform encourages businesses of all sizes and individuals to support the organization or its individual CPUs in the form of sponsorship and donations. Benefactors may also donate needed supplies, goods and their time to a CPU of their choice. The platform entices donors to leave short video messages, visual links to their own website and a brief description of their support. Competition amongst benefactors is encouraged by advertising the top four donors in financial terms on the home page of the HD CPU; the four biggest Benefactors of all the CPUs will be featured on the HD national homepage leading to the four biggest contributors of all national websites being featured on HD’s international home page. In return for their support Benefactors will be able to embed the television channel or videos they want on their websites, social responsibility page or social network page.

The Markets Page is an e-commerce-based platform showcasing products made by the community co-ops. Each product will include a short video clip on its creators. The best selling products will be showcased on the national websites leading to the best of those being showcased on the international website.
Google Earth will have specifically designed overlays applicable to the page it is on giving visitors a bird’s eye view of the continent, region and community; progress reports on meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), environmental, political, economic and population statistics and other applicable information.

A Blog or alternatively a Podcast maintained and updated by a member of the CPU in the form of a diary entry, will give visitors a glimpse into producers’ personal lives and experiences, as well as the progress they are making. Comments and responses will create interesting dialogue.
Second Life; an on-line 3D, virtual world with an estimated $360 million spent in purchasing and spending in goods and services annually. All our websites and web pages will have direct links to and from the Hillside Digital Island created within Second Life. The Island will house a lecture hall and conference facilities outfitted with all the essential business tool applications such as video, data and research presentation, research and educational facilities will be developed; possibly an online university focused on social change, concert hall, virtual and real world shops and market places. The island will be a community-based hotspot with an endless potential for education, research, collaboration, entertainment and relationship building. NGOs and Civil Society groups will be invited to build their presence on the island.

Sustainability:
E-commerce and online giving is increasing at an exponential rate. Funds raised online through the benefactor program, profit share earned from e-commerce, local advertising and sponsorship and returns on microfinance loans will be used to pay for operations and maintenance, capital for micro-financing services in order to stimulate job creation and to procure essential items identified by the community, ranging from mosquito nets, solar powered water purification pumps, medical supplies to low cost housing and alternative energy equipment such as solar panels and wind turbines.