Background and resources
Video making is particularly useful in the context of learning for active citizenship because it helps to motivate young people to research and take action on social and political issues of concern to themselves – issues that may be important within their own college or local community or more widely.
Making a citizenship video can help to do this by challenging young people to think about their chosen issue in depth, to consider a range of views on a subject, and sometimes to represent views which are not necessarily their own.
Video can be used: 
 as a way to research an issue; to stimulate discussion and debate and challenge accepted views; to provide statements from those with particular interests or expertise in an issue; to campaign and encourage others to take action.
Careful thinking and planning is always important – young people need to be very clear about the issue they are focusing on, the type of video they want to make, their target audience and the resources they have available to them.
While it’s good to have access to more specialized equipment and support in using it, a lot can also be achieved with more modest resources, including mobile phones and other small devices.
This activity is based on an example of a video made by a group of students at West Thames College in West London engaged in a citizenship and public speaking project - who chose to campaign for a scheme known as ‘CitySafe
H aven’ to be started in their own local area. This initiative, supported by
Citizens UK and prompted by the threat of street violence facing young people, includes a scheme where, with police and council support, local shops agree to act as ‘safe havens’ – a place of immediate refuge for anyone fearing they are about to be attacked.
As part of the preparation for their own citizenship and public speaking project students will watch and then discuss critically the
‘CitySafe Haven’
video which is available here as an accompanying resource.
Task 1
Explain the background to the ‘CitySafe Haven’ video and show it to your students as part of the preparations for their own citizenship and public speaking project.
Task 2
Hold a discussion about the video, asking your students to consider the following questions:

What do you think is the purpose of this video?

What specific message is it trying to get across?


Who do you think is the target audience for the video?
 Does the video get it’s message across effectively?

How could it be improved?

Can this video help to bring about change? What more would need to be done to follow-up the video to get change?
Task 3
Could you make your own citizenship video?

As a group, can you agree on an issue (or several issues) in your college or local community that you feel strongly about?

What change do you think is needed?

Your target audience
– who do you need to influence and persuade?

Would a video help you to make your case for change?

What type of video would be most effective?
Making a citizenship video – additional tips
 In addition to thinking through the questions above…………..

Consider what is realistically possible
– what equipment and technical support do you have?

Research your chosen issue carefully first – be clear about arguments and message before you start filming

Have a clear, detailed action plan for your video making – create a story board to help you plan each part of the video

Investigate and obtain the necessary permissions to film people
– and in particular locations (for example, the makers of the CitySafe Haven video needed police permission to stage fight scenes in the street)