Integrating Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) with Cinema for Development in Gishiri Community, Abuja, Nigeria

Abstract

This article interrogates the viability of Participatory Video (PV) as cinema for development within the context of the Gishiri community in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. Anchored  in  Participatory  Learning  and Action  (PLA)  and  development  communication paradigms, the study documents and analyses a six-day Cinema for Development (CfD) workshop conducted by postgraduate scholars of the Institute of Strategic and Development Communication (ISDEVCOM), Nasarawa State University, Keffi. Using qualitative research methods involving participant observation, interviews, focus group discussions, and visual- textual analysis of participatory video outputs, the study demonstrates how PV repositions community members from passive subjects to active cultural producers and development actors. Findings reveal that participatory video fosters social conscientisation, cultural affirmation, skill acquisition, youth empowerment, and collective agency, while also serving as an advocacy medium for infrastructural renewal. The study contributes theoretically by advancing Cinema for Development as a people-centred audiovisual praxis and practically by offering a replicable framework for community-based filmmaking in Nigeria and comparable Global South contexts.