Facilitator training in Aghveran, Armenia October 2016
The second project done in cooperation with our Armenian partner, focusing on discovering the connection between digital storytelling and youth work. This time 24 trainers and youth workers met to discuss the topic of intercultural dialogue and the prevention of discrimination based on young people’s ethnic/religious background by giving them a chance to express themselves in a digital way.
Partners
ICIRLD (Armenia)
Digital Storylab (Denmark)
Alex who took part in “Digital Storytelling for Intercultural Dialogue” says
“For me as a journalist it was an empowering experience. First of all, at the end of the training we were supposed to create video stories, and a story, from my perspective, is the most valuable thing for those who work in this sphere. Moreover, the relationship between participants and trainers was so trustworthy that it gave us a chance to touch upon very personal stuff. We talked about things that you sometimes can’t discuss even with your relatives. I mean it appeared to be not only in videos but happened all the time during the training course. That’s what made our stories unique and intimate. And that’s what helps us keep in touch two years after the project was finished.
As far as technical expertise is concerned, the project gave me a chance to substantially improve my competencies in this field. But that was not the most important thing. The biggest achievement for me was that in my story I found strength to sum up everything that cut me to the quick at that moment and tell a few dozen people about that.
My professional life has changed dramatically since then. I would be lying if I said that only “Digital Storytelling…” project was responsible for that but that was definitely a very important initial step. It gave me a free hand. I just had to take advantage of that.”
Luis who took part in “Digital Storytelling for Intercultural Dialogue” says
“When I came to the digital storytelling training I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I was curious, because I had heard a lot about storytelling before, but I had never tried it in a digital way. Finding a topic for my story was a bit of a struggle, but the very professional approach and guidance from the trainers helped me a lot. Also our group was extremely sensitive and inclusive, so I felt save enough to share very deep feelings with them. After I had a clear idea of my story, we came to the actual technical/digital implementation. Again I was sceptical in the beginning, but in the end surprised how much one can actually do with such basic tools. In the end I believe the whole process and the experience as such helped me a lot to understand who I am, even if I am not that happy with my final video.”