DIGITALE . 2018 . FRANCE
“DIGITALE” E-BOOKLET
In this booklet, our trainers Signe and Kasia have collected most of the exercises we did to go through the process of finding a story and telling it using the method of “digital storytelling”. Feel free to download it and share with your colleagues, associates, friends and family.
⊳ Download free from here ⊲
TRAINING COURSE
5-18th SEPTEMBER 2018
HOMADE, BRIVEZAC, FRANCE
Working with queer youth is a very sensitive topic that requires especially careful approaches and methods which can provide a safe space for young people to express their problems and needs without a fear of being judged or misunderstood. In the vast majority of cases marginalised youngsters are facing various discriminations and challenges in their daily lives, hence there is a great need to give them an opportunity to talk and reflect on the emotions and problems they are going through, and at the same time to encourage them to focus on expressing themselves and exploring their identity. Although the majority of the organisations active in the field fully acknowledge the importance of the above described problem, in many cases they are still lacking proper tools and methods to tackle the issue in a more innovative and creative manner that could bring greater benefits to the young people they work with.
'Digitale' aimed at gathering youth workers and young leaders from various European countries (France, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal and Germany) and presenting them the concept of digital storytelling. Participants had the chance to explore the positive impact it can have when used as a method of working with queer youth and the general audience to promote diversity and inclusion. Digital storytelling is based on the assumption that every person has a unique story to be told and shared with the others. It is a modern extension of the art of storytelling that has been an important part of social interactions since the very birth of humanity. However, in the modern world where we people are constantly exposed to the flood of information, we tend to forget how reflecting on personal experiences and sharing them with others can be beneficial for one's personal development. Digital storytelling is the concept that combines two crucial aspects - the power of creating personal narratives and our modern need to "go digital", giving people a chance to tell their stories in a creative way that involves using their digital skills.
Therefore, 'Digitale' was to offer alternative sources of expression for queer youth by exploring digital storytelling with youth workers using photo, video, sound design, editing and script writing, storytelling and social media strategies.
Part of the process is the “story circle” - a safe space where the storytellers share their story ideas and receive feedback from the group. Photos by Ål Nik.
OUR DIGITAL STORIES
☜ During the workshop we dived into the process and created our own stories - personal emotional and also powerful and definitely many people will find themselves in those videos. Would you like to have a look? We uploaded some of them - thank you, dear storytellers for sharing them!
TEAM
SIGNE SANDER
FACILITATOR
Signe has facilitated Digital Storytelling since 2014 and has functioned as facilitator, trainer, expert and project manager in several local and international projects since then. She has a master of arts in cultural studies, wrote her master thesis on storytelling and has been trained in the method from "Digital Storylab" in Denmark.
Signe is furthermore a part of the international Digital Storytelling network and has attended more conferences on the subject to keep up to date with the developments of the method.
KASIA KOWALSKA
FACILITATOR
Kasia is a youth worker and trainer specialised in intercultural dialogue. She has been working with digital storytelling since 2015, implementing and coordinating a number of local and international workshops addressed to young people with fewer opportunities and fellow youth workers interested in exploring the method.
Currently she is based in Tbilisi Georgia, working as a project manager at "Caucasus Youth Nexus", her main activities being coordinating projects aiming at empowering local youth through creative means of expression.
ALEXANDRA NIKOLOVA
COORDINATOR
Alexandra (or Ål Nik) is a communication designer, illustrator and visual storyteller. She has been working in copywriting, digital communication and entrepreneurship during the past 12 years while being always attracted by arts - street dancing, music and drawing. She has been a trainer since 2014 when she started teaching about digital skills and all creative ways to do online marketing and business planning.
She now studies History of Art in Sofia and explores the possibilities of using art as an educational tool as well as a means for inclusion & self-development.
KAROLINA UFA
ORGANISER
Karolina is an itinerant wanderluster passionate about art and feminism. Born in Warsaw Karolina graduated in cultural studies in Poland and is finishing her gender studies in Sweden. She designed and carried out creative writing courses and workshops about human rights and contemporary art in Poland and Sweden.
She lived in Denmark, Indonesia, Belgium and Switzerland. She collects stamps on her passport and stories from all over the world.
OUR STORYTELLERS ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
“I’ll take away all of the experience in handling video editing programs and also a sense of structure in writing in general. Before I had a hard time dealing with my own memories and implementing them into my stories but now I have a way of shaping them and putting them into my writing. this will definitely help me.”
— Bambi
“I think we had very good and committed trainers. The program was well designed and implemented. I liked that we had time to calmly do every step.”
— Carol
“It was a great process. I really liked that there was no pressure or stress on finding a story right away and then the exercises were not goal oriented. All the exercises were so great and the team building - it was very helpful for me. Also the talk about fears and expectations.”
— Ida
“I will use this method in the context that I already know with organizations that I currently work with already.”
— Lara
This training course has been co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. If you would like to find out more about the programme, please visit European Commission’s webpage here.
