2020 brought the unexpected–Covid-19–into our lives, and with it, changes and challenges we never imagined possible. None of us have been untouched by the pandemic; all of us have stories about our experiences. Stories for Change, a project of Creative Narrations, offers community members a chance to tell these stories in a multimedia, digital format with the support of professionally trained facilitators. As participants reflect on their own and each others’ stories, they build valuable digital literacy skills that will help them navigate the changing mediascape. This website is a place where local non-profit and community leaders can search for these Tucson-specific, authentic multimedia stories by theme, along with discussion guides and supplemental materials to use with classes, workshops and trainings.
Creative Narrations has been providing digital storytelling training in Tucson and nationally since 2004. These workshops, conducted in partnership with local organizations, have produced collections of authentic stories that convey the complex hardships and resilient courage that often go unnoticed and remain untold. Together they comprise a rich source of inspiration–an affirmation of identity and belonging–that can be used by others in the community in the work of moving forward to a stronger, more equitable future.
As a member of NAMLE, the National Association of Media Literacy Education, we approach digital/media literacy holistically by building key components into each workshop. Participants learn to strengthen technical skills, engage in critical analysis of the media messages we receive and create, and develop reflective practices essential for a democratic society, as they develop the digital skills necessary for full participation in a rapidly changing world. Bringing together narrative, technology and education, our mission is to provide communities with the ability to use multi-media tools to document and reflect upon the complexity of voices and images that represent the changes they see in their own lives, from their own perspectives, in their own words.
Stories for Change works to address the urgent need for more digital literacy resources, tools and creative training opportunities to help vulnerable populations bridge the digital gap that currently exists and has been magnified by the pandemic. Participants work in classes to create their own multimedia, 3-minute first person digital stories about their personal experiences of the pandemic. They choose, tell, record and edit their stories themselves; it is a shared, interactive endeavor with opportunities to learn from and about each other. They learn that their stories matter not only to themselves, but to the community and country they live in. It is, in the end, a celebration.