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What is a 'social action'?
Social action is an act that takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals or organisations. For example, in the city of London knife crime is a constant occurance and is deemed a problem and potential danger for everyone wandering the streets of the city; a number of people may choose to make a report of the average amount of knife crime incidents in the location over a set amount of time, try to raise awareness and improve the safety as an end result.

 What is a social action project and why are they needed?
A social action project is the undertaking of a task set out to improve a problem in a populated area. A good example of a social action project would be graffiti incidents in public places done by youths. Graffiti would be spotted in numerous public areas, and a number of individuals may undertake the task of preventing them from doing so again and perhaps if the graffiti artists are that passionate about their artwork the individuals may attempt to set up a specific area specifically for graffiti in the future. Social action projects are needed to raise awareness of common problems happening in populated areas, these can range from as extreme as life or death situations to as little as there not being enough pathways in villages.

What is a social action video?
A social action video is a video created in aid of raising awareness of problems and/or following a social action project. The video will usually begin with an introduction to what the problem is, trying to maintain the viewer's keen interest in order to convince the audience to get on-side with the project. Interviews, examples, opinions and statistics will usually be thrown in the video to make viewers fully aware of the matter at hand, how grand scale it is and how it directly affects them.

Why are they important?
Social action videos are important as without them there would be many matters that weren't made aware to the public. Organisations such as AgeUK, The Green Belt Movement and Less Than Four would be far less heard of and less aided if it weren't for the creation of some social action videos.

The Green Belt Movement - Striving for better environmental management, community empowerment, and livelihood improvement using tree-planting as an entry point.

Using GBM’s Watershed Based Approach, communities help to conserve biodiversity, restore ecosystems, and reduce the impact of climate change. GBM relies on its network of over 4000 community groups to deliver its watershed based approach. By planting trees in these communities it gives the habitants a chance at a more civilised way of living, they have more resources for building houses and schools, as well as having a more fertile land to grow other crops to provide food.

CEE encourages communities to come together, take action, and stand up for their rights. CEE educates communities about the positive impacts of tree planting; and provides practical learning for communities on how to create sustainable livelihoods through: Food Security and Water Harvesting; Gender and Leadership; and Climate Change. These lessons help to give the communities a better understanding of how to sustain their way of life and improve.

Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee noted Professor Maathai’s contribution to “sustainable development, democracy and peace.” The Committee further stated that Professor Maathai “stands at the front of the fight to promote ecologically viable social, economic and cultural development in Kenya and in Africa

Bucks Sport -  Their vision is for an active and successful sporting county before, during and after the London 2012 Games. Their aim is to create a ‘single system’ whereby all agencies work together more effectively to widen access, increase participation, create clear pathways and improve levels of performance in sport and physical activity.

Bucks Sport’s first purpose was to involve communities in Buckinghamshire in sport as we got closer to the London 2012 games, building the buzz for the Olympic and Paralympic games. After the events were finished, Bucks Sport directed their attention to building sport activity in schools and youthful communities, as well as giving sporting options to those with disabilities, working with clubs and volunteers, and professional level athletes.

The donations that Bucks Sport receive are mainly from sponsors such as “Sported.” and “Canoe Foundation Grants”. Other donations come from the general public and this is the entirety of their funding. All the money that Buckssport receive go towards helping the mentioned communities become more fit and active in a sporting environment.