The core of Shahrazad is stories. The overall purpose of the project is to bring original and challenging stories to Europe from all over the world – and to help new stories come to life. Digital storytelling is a central tool for Shahrazad in this strives, because of its effective way of combining personal narration with new technology.
During the five-year project period of Shahrazad, 1001 digital stories will be made all around Europe.
WHAT IS DIGITAL STORYTELLING?
Digital Storytelling refers to using new digital tools to help people to tell their personal stories. Typically, digital stories are produced in intensive workshops with the help of trained instructors, on a specific theme/subject. The product is a 1-2 minute film that combines a narrated piece of personal writing, photographic and other still images, animations and videos, and a musical soundtrack.
WHY DIGITAL STORIES?
The world is transforming. New technology is rapidly changing the conditions for almost every aspect of our lives and cultures. The way we communicate is maybe undergoing the most fundamental and dramatic change – but the need for communication, and hence storytelling, is as strong and essential as ever before.
Digital storytelling is a method that uses the technical advances to facilitate this need. And while the creation of new stories is the central part, the technical tools can inspire, stimulate creativity and enable new ways of expressions.
New technology is cheap, accessible and easy to use. The digital format makes it possible to copy files and programs an infinite number of times. Those features make the beauty of digital
storytelling: the stories can be created by people everywhere, on any subject – and be shared electronically all over the world.
Thus, digital storytelling can be seen as a concentrate of the Shahrazad project itself, with its aims of story production, -exchanging, intercultural dialogue, and networking.
1001 DIGITAL STORIES – AIMS & PURPOSES
The aim to make 1001 digital stories during Shahrazad*s five years is of course symbolic, referring to “One thousand and one nights”. But it is also something else.
While Shahrazad is a project that wants to emphasize the power of the story and bring new narratives to a broader audience, the production of digital stories has a value in itself. If over thousand persons get to tell their story, the Shahrazad project have not only contributed to bringing new creative works to life – it has also given a voice to people who, in a majority of the cases, normally don’t have access to the public space.
