StoryCenter Public Health Update – August, 2016
Courageous Afghan Women Create Stories Through Innovative Online Process
This past winter and spring, StoryCenter’s Silence Speaks initiative collaborated with the wonderful Afghan Women’s Writing Project on a unique digital storytelling workshop conducted entirely via pre-recorded webinars, Skype calls, and emails.  A small group of bilingual (Dari-English speaking) Afghan women learned the basics of writing for video, explored the ethics of photography and videography, crafted short narratives, and gathered and took photos and video clips to illustrate their work (those participants who were not able to create original visual material received assistance with illustration and videography). Given limited personal access to video editing equipment and software in Afghanistan and the challenges of teaching video editing in an online environment, our staff produced the final stories in the U.S. Now, we’re proud to premiere an initial selection of these powerful narratives. If you’re interested in learning more about this project, register now for our upcoming free introductory webinar on Storytelling, Participatory Media, and International Public Health and Human Rights, scheduled for Wednesday September 14. (To register, choose “Intro Digital Storytelling Public Health Webinar” in the pull-down menu, and then choose the correct date in the second pull-down menu that will appear.)
Violence Prevention Program Peer Educators in San Francisco Share Their Stories
For more than 20 years, City College of San Francisco’s Project SURVIVE has operated out of the college’s Women’s Studies Department, and has been training students to promote healthy relationships through presentations on campus and in community organizations and high schools across the city.  In May, StoryCenter collaborated with the project on a digital storytelling workshop, leading five of its peer educators in sharing their own stories and developing them as short videos. These powerful narratives are being integrated across Project SURVIVE’s curricular materials. We’ll be premiering several of the stories in September, at the National Sexual Assault Conference in Washington, D.C., and Project SURVIVE will screen the entire collection in October on the City College campus, as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities. View Project SURVIVE stories online.
StoryCenter Videos Shared as Part of Resources for Training Community Health Workers
More on our collaborative work with City College of San Francisco … After a four-year process, the second edition of Foundations for Community Health Workers and a companion Training Guide, both authored by staff of the college’s Health Education Department, have been published by Jossey-Bass. These resources are ideal for use in preparing community members to work as health educators and advocates. The Training Guide features a series of beautiful digital stories created in workshops we led with formerly incarcerated women and men who are involved with the Transitions Clinic Network, which is building an innovative healthcare model for returning prisoners with chronic conditions. Purchase the book online and download the Training Guide for free.
It’s not too late to join our 2016 Public Health Webinar Series
StoryCenter’s 2016 six-part Public Health Webinar Series began in April and continues through mid-December in sessions held every other month. Learn how our workshop-based production methods enable community members and practitioners to share compelling first-person narratives as short videos, and gain insight into the many applications of digital storytelling for public health. Sign up now for this in-depth series to receive a discount off the individual webinar price! When you do, you’ll receive a link to the recordings of any sessions you’ve missed.
Sending all the best,
StoryCenter Public Health Team
August 2016
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