The Casa – Pueblito team used this technique to engage Latinx high school students in conversation about their experiences in school. The program was 12-weeks long and consisted of a series of workshops in which students achieved two objectives. First, they got to meet other Latinx students and share stories about how their Latinidad was shaping their identities, relationships and learning experiences in school. And second, they learned digital skills – photography, video filming, video editing and voice recording – to translate these stories into powerful short films.
This is an example of how participatory video can help youth can reflect about their place in the world and their ability to make change in it.
This technique creates the following opportunities for participants:
- Participants get to reflect on their experience as Latinx students
- The act of sharing personal stories is cathartic and inspires feelings of empathy and solidarity
- The digital components allow participants to express themselves through different mediums. This creates a more inclusive, accepting and creative space than what they experience in the classroom.
- In the 12 weeks students can develop meaningful relationships with one another and build a community
- The digital stories are easy to share on social media and can be used for advocacy and fundraising purposes
The act of sharing stories leads students to revisit painful memories in which they felt excluded, discriminated against or as one of the students put it, invisible. Creating a safe environment and developing trust between students and facilitators is key for the success of this technique. However, if this is achieved – the students leave the program not only having created amazing digital stories, but also with increased awareness of their power to change their own narratives.
It is a good technique to start conversations about identity, social belonging and community building. It can be adapted into a format that fits the interests, concerns and realities of participants.
About Casa – Pueblito
Casa – Pueblito is a non-profit, international organization that facilitates community development and intercultural learning with a focus on youth in Canada and Latin America. One of our programs, Voices for Change: Developing Leadership in Inclusive Education (2014 – 2017) , is a Toronto and Peel-based program working to increase Latinx student success and retention rates by providing a space for Latinx secondary students to champion for diversity and inclusivity in our schools and communities through the Youth Change-Maker program.
It’s doing this in two ways: a) By providing professional development opportunities to teachers in inclusive education and culturally responsive and reflective pedagogy; and b) by providing a space for Latinx secondary students to champion for diversity and inclusivity in their schools and communities through the Youth Change-Maker program.
Throughout the 2015-2016 school year, 6 Youth Change-Makers (coming from both the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board) created digital stories to bring awareness to issues contributing to the shocking 40% dropout rate among Toronto-area Latin American students.
Voices for Change is generously funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the government of Ontario.
Learn more about Casa – Pueblito at www.casapueblito.org
Toolkit for Inclusive Education: Developed in 2012 by Casa – Pueblito in collaboration with practicing teachers from the Toronto Catholic District School Board and updated in 2014, the Toolkit contains lesson plans and professional development resources that are designed to help educators create more inclusive and diverse classrooms that better engage Latinx secondary school students.
Our Voices in School: The first digital storytelling project ran by Casa – Pueblito in 2012. Watch it on vimeo. Password: OVIS private screener.
Digital Storytelling Toronto: Digital Storytelling Toronto helps participants use digital media tools to craft, record, and share the stories of individuals and their communities. Digital Storytelling training offers a structured group process that helps participants create their own two to four minute digital story in order to promote learning, action, and positive change in the community. DST mentored and trained students who were part of the Voices for Change program.
