In a country where 70% of the population lives in rural areas, only 2% of mainstream media content addresses their issues. This stark disconnect means that millions of voices remain unheard in India's development conversation. Video Volunteers exists to change this reality through the radical belief that those closest to problems are best positioned to articulate solutions.
Their flagship initiative, IndiaUnheard, operates as India's only news agency focused exclusively on providing coverage from the poorest, most media-deprived districts. What makes it unique is that every story is produced by people living the experiences they document - community correspondents who are themselves part of the communities they represent.
These correspondents aren't traditional journalists. They're farmers, daily wage workers, women's rights activists, and community organisers who have been trained to use video as a tool for advocacy and change. Through handheld devices, they document everything from collapsing infrastructure and healthcare failures to innovative community solutions and environmental challenges. Each 3-4 minute video becomes both a piece of evidence and a call for action.
Video Volunteers' approach goes beyond storytelling. They train correspondents to conduct field surveys on issues like Sustainable Development Goals, transforming data collection from an extractive process into an empowering one. When communities gather their own data, they use it to drive local action and hold authorities accountable.
Meet the team
Video Volunteers, on LinkedIn
The team
Reporting network
The organisation's impact extends through strategic partnerships with mainstream media outlets including Doordarshan, CNN IBN, NDTV, and Scroll, ensuring that grassroots stories reach national audiences. They also collaborate with advocacy organisations to turn local issues into broader campaigns for systemic change.
Central to their work is the understanding that technology alone doesn't create change; people do. Their community correspondents lead discussion clubs, using gender-focused videos to challenge patriarchal norms among youth. They document forced evictions, exposing the human cost of development projects that displace vulnerable communities.
The organisation's feminist and intersectional framework ensures that the most marginalised voices, women, Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities, find space in narratives that have historically excluded them. Through campaigns like Khel Badal, they challenge everyday sexism and gender stereotypes that perpetuate discrimination.
Video Volunteers represents a fundamental shift in how development communication works. Instead of speaking about communities, they create platforms for communities to speak for themselves. In doing so, they're not just changing media representation - they're changing who gets to shape the story of India's future.
