Engaging the World allows you to embark on an interactive exploration of selected themes in international development. The film consists of very short individual videos that the Korkasow program uses to generate a documentary film that is tailored to your viewing interests. Elsewhere on this website you can find a number of related tools that will assist you in making the most of this interactive experience. Read on for more information or hit the button below to begin.
START ENGAGING THE WORLD NOW
How it works
What you will find are a total of 52 videos of individuals answering questions about international development. The videos range between about 1.5 and 2 minutes in length. The first large screen you see will be the introduction. Below the selected video you will be given a choice of four other related videos that appear in random order. When you are ready to proceed you merely click on one of the videos on the bottom. Each video has a question as a title. Once you make your selection it will appear in a large screen and the cycle will begin again with four new options displayed at the bottom. The viewer decides what path to follow and once a clip is viewed it will not appear as an option again. There is no going back. Imbedded keywords link the videos to one another in a variety of ways.
Do it your way
The total viewing time is approximately 120 minutes without pause, but you do not have to watch it all at once. It is recommended that you watch the film as a series of shorter web-docs and every time you do, it will be different. The only thing that remains the same is the first video which is the introduction. After that, no two viewing experiences are the same because the system provides different options for the order of the film every time.
Take it to the limit
You can see a segment of the film again, but not with the technology used to create Engaging the World. To locate the individual videos go to the Elements tab on the menu bar above and follow the instructions. The Classroom tab provides ideas on how to use Engaging the World with students in high school or university. In the classroom section you will also find information about two books that accompany Engaging the World and the television series. The Project tab on the menu will introduce you to the project leaders and the People tab will introduce you to the participants in the films. If Engaging the World is not enough for your appetite you can also watch the full documentary series by going to the Television Series on the menu bar.
Engaging the World is an interactive non-linear documentary film by Ron Harpelle. The film is produced by ShebaFilms and powered by Korsakow, an application used to make interactive documentaries for the web. Engaging the World is designed to introduce viewers to some of the challenges of international development and to consider solutions to some of the problems encountered in developing world. This interactive, non-linear web doc provides viewers with insights based on conversations with a number of dynamic individuals who work in the field of international development.
You Decide
Engaging the World is different from other documentary forms because with Korsakow the viewer, not the director, decides the order in which the scenes unfold and the conclusion is what the viewer concludes based on their individual viewing experience. Every person who watches Engaging the World sees a different combination of critically interacting video components and the result is a different film every time. The foundation for Engaging the World are 52 individual videos that are linked together by keywords that self generate viewing options for the next video segment to form an evolving structure for the film. The individual videos have been edited to provide short answers to questions about international development, but the viewer chooses the questions to be answered. Each video component is a film in itself, so you can easily pause to ponder or discuss what you see and hear. The viewer interacts with the Korsakow program, but the viewer always decides what comes next.
A Matter of Time
The beauty of an interactive film like Engaging the World is that the main elements are stand alone videos that can be appreciated on their own or as one in a series of related videos. The individual videos are no more than a few minutes in length, but the entire film is two hours long if the viewer chooses to watch every video component in the sequence. Therefore, the film can be short, medium or feature length. You can watch Engaging the World between bus stops on the way to work. You can leave it on your desktop so that you can return to it at your convenience. Or you can sit down and make an evening of it. A viewer can also start the film over as many times as they like and always get a different result. Similarly, the order can be completely random, carefully structured or any combination of the two. Viewers watch the film at their own pace and can stop anywhere they choose. All of this makes Engaging the World something you can enjoy on your own, with your family, with friends or with students you want to engage in thinking about big issues. If you have between five minutes and two hours, you have time to engage the world and you can do it over and over and over again.
The Project
Engaging the World is the last piece of a project to write the history and make a documentary series about Canada’s International Development Research Centre. The project was headed by historians Bruce Muirhead and Ron Harpelle. In addition to publishing IDRC: 40 years of Ideas, Innovation and Impact and Long Term Solutions in a Short Term World: Canada and Research for Development, the researchers collaborated with documentary film director Kelly Saxberg to produce Citoyens du Monde/Citizens of the World, a six-part documentary series on International Development. Engaging the World draws upon footage from around the world that could not be used in the series. The videos included in Engaging the World were rescued before they ended up on the editing room floor. The videos are drawn from conversations with some of the people who shared their stories with the filmmakers for the film series. The idea is to present viewers with opinions on some of the challenges of international development.
Ron Harpelle teaches History at Lakehead University.
Bruce Muirhead teaches History at the University of Waterloo.
Engaging Students in the Classroom
Engaging the World has been used in high school and undergraduate classrooms to introduce students to a wide variety of themes dealing with international development. The flexibility of a non-linear documentary provides instructors with a number of ways of engaging students in the challenges of international development. Engaging the World is built on a platform of critically interacting video components that are designed to illicit critical responses from viewers. Every experience with Engaging the World is a personal experience for the viewer because the Korsakow program self generates viewing options for the next video segment to form an evolving structure for the film.
The keywords used for the videos include terms such as, women, agriculture, water, health, ICTs, and education. Also, the keywords include the countries the stories originate in and the names of the individuals in each clip. As a result, a video on women and agriculture in India will trigger new video options that include women, India and agriculture. No two people will get the same set of options or make the same choices about the videos they will watch. Every screening of the web-doc will be different and this is the magic of an interactive non-linear documentary.
Bear in mind that students who are assigned to watch the film on their own will participate differently in discussions than if the film is shown in class to a group. Both approaches to using the film as a teaching tool are effective in their own way and lead to different teaching outcomes. This is because students will either come armed with a variety of individual approaches to a common problem or work from a common set of established benchmarks to deal with the issue at hand.
The film series
If you are interested in a much more in-depth exploration of research for development you can watch Kelly Saxberg’s Citoyens du Monde/Citizens of the World a six-part documentary series on International Development. The series is available in English and French. Click here to find out more about the documentary series.
Find it online
You can also find information about many of the people in Engaging the World. Many of them are the authors of articles, books and reports and they have made significant contributions to international development over the years. The names of the individuals in the videos are listed under People in the menu above.
Use Engaging the World in the Classroom
Here are a few ideas for using Engaging the World to teach about international development.
1) The instructor can begin classes using one or two clips to break the ice. In this scenario students can be asked to pick which video they would like to see next and then after each video the instructor can pause for a brief discussion.
2) The instructor can also include questions on tests or exams about specific issues or themes discussed in the web-doc.
3) Students can be assigned to watch Engaging the World on their own in its entirety and then write an essay based on what they have learned.
4) Students can also be asked to view a set number of videos and then write an essay that explains how the various development challenges are linked to one another.
5) Students can be separated into study groups to view segments of Engaging the World and debate the issues.
6) Most of the videos are of individuals with reputations and publications. Students can be asked to research someone like Vanda Shiva, Dipak Gyawali or Margaret Catley-Carlson or to read something they have written.
7) Instructors can combine Engaging the World with the books and documentary film series that part of the supplementary materials listed below.
Supplementary Materials
Although Engaging the World is designed as a stand-alone teaching tool, it can also be accompanied by one or both of the books on international development published by Bruce Muirhead and Ron Harpelle. The documentary series about research for development is also available for classroom use.
The Books
Consider having students read IDRC: 40 years of Ideas, Innovation and Impact, (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010). This is a history of IDRC that illustrates the course of international development thinking from 1970 to 2010. This title is also available in French as CRDI: 40 ans d’idées, d’innovations et d’impacts, published by Les Presses de l’Université Laval.
If you are interested in reading about some of the researchers interviewed in Engaging the World you can find chapters by them in Long Term Solutions in a Short Term World: Canada and Research for Development, (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011).
Television Series
Engaging the World is a spinoff from Citoyens du Monde/Citizens of the World a six-part educational documentary series directed by Kelly Saxberg. Ron Harpelle and Bruce Muirhead participated in all facets the project, providing the concept and foundational research for the film series, conducting interviews with leading figures in international development research and advising on various aspects of the production and post-production process to ensure accuracy and the general integrity of the project.
Please note that use of this series in the classroom requires the purchase of the DVD collection from Les Productions Rivard. Contact them for further information.
Themes
The series consists of six documentary films about research for development. They were shot in 15 countries across the Global South. Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America were visited to make the documentaries. The films focus on six themes that are linked together in a chain that explores issues related to research for development. The main themes are water, women, health, politics, ICTs and the BRIC countries, but there are also many sub-themes in the series that reveal much about the complexity and general challenges of international development. The first documentary also provides a short historical introduction to Canadian international development and the work of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is often discussed.
Viewing Options
You may view them in the order below or as individual documentaries. Each film is approximately 50 minutes in length and consists of three or four separate chapters that focus on different regions of the world. Each chapter is about 15 minutes in length, so viewers can also watch self-contained segments that focus on one geographic region or country. For example, the film about water and development consists of chapters that focus on India, Bolivia and Senegal and the film about women focuses on Senegal, Morocco, Guatemala and Palestine. The documentaries were originally produced in French for TFO but the series can also be viewed in English.
The Films
The films can be viewed in either English or French and you can watch them here.
1) Water for Life | À la recherche d’eau
2) The Voice of Women | La voix des citoyennes
3) The Politics of Exclusion | La politique d’exclusion
4) Health For Life | Échecs et progrès
5) Between Citizens — Entre citoyens
6) New Paradigm — Nouveau paradigme
More Information
Read More About Citizens of the World
Credits
Engaging the World is a ShebaFilms production by Ron Harpelle made with the financial assistance of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and hosting support by the Friends of the Finnish Labour Temple. The video clips used in Engaging the World are outtakes from a television series called Citoyens du Monde produced by Les Productions Rivard. Kelly Saxberg directed Citioyens du Monde and most of the photography is by Donald Delorme. The interviews were conducted by Bruce Muirhead and Ron Harpelle. The editing of the original videos was by Gabriel Harpelle. Adrien Harpelle edited segments to add graphics and make the videos compatible with Engaging the World.
Production Team: Ron Harpelle, Kelly Saxberg, Donald Delorme, Gabriel Harpelle, Adrien Harpelle, Amanda Lino, Bruce Muirhead
Participants: Lamia Al Fatal, Daniel Annerose, Innocent Butaré, Alioune Camara, Roberto Bazzani, John Biehl, Alan Brum Pinheiro, Margaret Catley Carlson, Zoubida Charrouf, Omar Cissé, Ernest Dabiré, Judith Erazo, Omar Fernandez, Amandine Fuchiron, Indira Gandhi, Dipak Gyawal, Yang Huan, S Janakarajan, Shalini Kala, Hammou Laamrani, D. Rosairo, D.S. Girjia, Moubarack Lo, Muhamad Ly, Lu Mai, Luz Mendez, Déthié Soumaré Ndiaye, Philomena Ndiaye, Eglal Rashad, Oumar Sissoko, Assiata Boubou Sall, Walter Sanchez, Fatou Sarr, Vandana Shiva, Yiching Song, Judith Sutz, MS Swaminathan, Ramata Thioune, Palmira Ventosilla,
Special Thanks: Lauchlan Munro, Matthew Burton, Louis Paquin, Louise Simard, Matt Soar, Yves Bernard, IDRC, Les Productions Rivard, KOMODO, Korsakow.org, and the Friends of the Finnish Labour Temple.
Korsakow
Engaging the World is a non-linear documentary made using the Korsakow System to generate viewing options that form an evolving structure for the film. Korsakow is an easy-to-use computer program for the creation of database films. It was invented by Florian Thalhofer, a Berlin-based media artist. Korsakow films are films with a twist: They are interactive because the viewer has influence on the Korsakow Film. They are rule-based because the author decides on the rules by which the scenes relate to each other, but the viewer does not create fixed paths. Korsakow Films are generative because the order of the scenes is calculated while viewing. Korsakow is a cutting-edge new media format that provides educators and filmmakers with a unique means of producing research results and allowing viewers to interact critically with those results.
Make your own film
You too can make your own Korsakow film and it does not have to be made with short videos like you see in Engaging the World. Visit Korsakow.org to find out more about the organization and concepts behind the Korsakow System. You will also find many examples of Korsakow films produced by artists and researchers interested in non-linear and interactive engagement with audiences.
