Digital Stories Booth

Women'sNet has used digital media since it's inception in 1998 to amplify women's voices and share information and knowledge. We had an opportunity to participate in training by the Centre for Digital Story Telling for Engender Health in 2005. The training encouraged us to initiate our own programme.

Our first digital story telling collection, was produced with funding from the Foundation for Human Rights in 2006. We focused these stories on gender-based violence - documenting stories rarely told, and rarely heard. Since this time, Digital Storytelling has become part of our work - and we have partnered with others to train women to develop their own stories.

What are Digital Stories?

Digital stories are stories produced, stored and disseminated using digital media. Women'sNet defines digital story telling as a recording and documentation method which foregrounds the voice and experiences of story tellers as primary in the process of storytelling. The focus is on the story tellers' control over the medium, choice of words (narration), pictures and music so that the process is as powerful for the story teller as the end product is to the listener.

Because Women'sNet is committed to challenging traditional approaches of developing media which appropriates women's voices, misrepresents us, and disempowers us, our approach to digital stories is one of empowerment, of women's control over their voices and stories, and respectful of process and product. In the process of making digital stories the importance of women's control and empowered use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) tools is emphasized.