Engaging women in storytelling processes
Empowering women in storytelling processes is vital for amplifying their voices and promoting gender equality.
Strategies to engage women in storytelling are aimed at ensuring equitable representation and amplifying women’s narratives.
They include creating dedicated platforms for female storytellers, providing mentorship and training opportunities, actively seeking diverse perspectives, fostering collaborative environments, promoting inclusive storytelling practices, and highlighting women's experiences through targeted campaigns.
Here are some effective strategies for engaging women in storytelling across a variety of mediums:
Digital Storytelling Workshops: Organizing digital storytelling workshops where women can learn to use digital media to share their stories, experiences, and perspectives. These workshops can include training on video creation, podcasting, and social media storytelling.
Community Storytelling Events: Hosting community storytelling events that provide a platform for women to share their narratives, both in person and virtually. These events can be inclusive of diverse voices and experiences.
Online Writing Platforms: Creating and promoting online platforms where women can contribute their stories through writing, poetry, and other forms of creative expression. These platforms can serve as safe spaces for women to share their experiences.
Mentorship Programs: Establishing mentorship programs where experienced storytellers, including women, can mentor and support emerging female storytellers, providing guidance and encouragement.
Digital Storytelling Campaigns: Launching digital storytelling campaigns that focus on specific themes or issues relevant to women, encouraging them to participate and share their stories through social media, blogs, and other digital channels.
Participatory Video Projects: Implementing participatory video projects that equip women with the skills to create and edit videos, allowing them to document their stories and advocate for change in their communities.
Storytelling Workshops in Educational Settings: Integrating storytelling workshops into educational settings, such as schools and community centers, to encourage young women to develop their storytelling abilities and express themselves creatively.
By implementing these strategies, women can be actively engaged in storytelling processes, contributing their unique perspectives and experiences to the broader narrative landscape. This can lead to greater visibility, recognition, and empowerment for women in the storytelling domain.
Resource links
Ethical Principles - Storytelling and Narrative Work
This document, produced by Healing Through Remembering, outlines a set of principles for storytelling and narrative work connected to the experience of the Northern Ireland conflict.
Healing Through Remembering
An independent initiative made up of a diverse membership with different political perspectives working on a common goal to deal with the legacy of the past as it relates to the Northern Ireland conflict.
Ethical and Shared Remembering
This booklet explores the key themes of a century ago and has been developed by the Junction based in Derry/Londonderry who have vast experience in peace building and reconciliation.
Creating a safe space model
A set of ground rules produced by Community Dialogue to "help us all communicate safely and effectively, ensuring we both feel heard and hear others."
Tips for creating safe spaces
7 tips for creating safe spaces for women by Katie Davis to "to ensure that people feel encouraged not only to share but also to disagree and be disagreed with, and know it’s okay to get it wrong."
The Junction Northern Ireland
Originally a centre set up by community relations practitioners in March 2000, the Centre provides a space for activities that feeds into the development of relationships, better understanding, and mutual respect.