Kuweni Serious empowers people to address Kenya's issues. (Picture Courtesy of KuweniSerious.org)

After we posted the article on the overwhelming response to a grassroots campaign by friends and family of the late Martin Njuma, our attention was drawn to yet another social activism effort, this time with a considerably wider scope. The campaign, under the moniker “Kuweni Serious” (i.e. Get Serious, People), makes use of video interviews of Kenyans — ordinary and extraordinary — sharing their thoughts on the Kenya we know today, and how we can contribute to fashioning the Kenya we want tomorrow. (See their interview with anti-corruption activist John Githongo below)

Kuweni Serious’s themes and method are simple, and therefore intriguing.  The videos are shot, treated and edited with an even-handed, artistic flare – all the while focusing on the subjects. We don’t hear any questions asked. Rather, they are posted on the screen so that we read them and are almost forced to ask ourselves the same. The subjects are frank and comfortable and accessible. They make us want to listen to them. When they respond to the questions, gazing at the camera or the invisible interviewer, they avoid the self-centered ranting we’re so used to.

There are virtually no bitter diatribes, no annoying whining, no pompous posturing. Just people we recognize and identify with, reasoning with us as equals, and educating us on a different point of view. No punches are pulled, though. The truth — at times chilling and bitter — is spoken frankly, but with a touch so personal that we can’t help feeling a lingering optimism for the future.

The videos, transcripts, and a couple of articles, can be found on their website and YouTube channel. The interviews have drawn thousands of views and dozens of comments so far, and attention appears to be growing. We at The Board again, have been forced to pay attention to a grassroots effort directed at a noble cause, by a group of ordinary young citizens. As far as we know there may be no agencies, no big budgets or large-scale media efforts involved. Just a camera, a clear agenda and a deft affinity for employing the powers of the ‘Net. This is what’s going on out there, ad industry folk. This is what the people are capable of. We have much to learn.

To learn more about Kuweni Serious, visit their About Page and follow them on Twitter @kuweniserious.

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