Digital Storytelling in Wales
Berkeley's Center for Digital Storytelling launches Welsh offshoot.
Digital Storytelling Festival in Aberystwyth, Wales, June 20 to 22, 2006
"Digital storytelling" is a term popularized by -- reasonably enough -- the Center for Digital Storytelling, based in Berkeley, California. For twelve years now they've been promoting the art of very short story-based digital presentations -- recorded first-person narratives with still images and music -- by holding workshops for individuals, teachers, and various facilitators and trainers from community groups and other organizations.
One of their most vigorous offshoots is in Wales, home to the BBC's first venture into digital storytelling. Two years ago, BBC photojournalist David Meadows launched the pioneer storytelling project that resulted in Capture Wales. Here's a description of the project in Meadows's own words:
"I've thought of Digital Stories as 'scrapbook television'. Short, personal, multimedia tales, told from the heart. They are rich on feeling, and -- because, in theory, anyone can make them, and publish them on screens anywhere -- they have to potential to be a very democratic type of storytelling.
The Wales of Capture Wales is not the media cliche post-industrial Wales of pit closures, redundant workers, quaint folk in pointy hats, Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta Jones, and lovely mountains covered in sheep. No, it's the personal story of a country talking to itself."
The first two days of the Welsh festival involve specialty workshops similar to CDS's, primarily for teachers, community groups, facilitators, interested individuals, and "young people," with an open stage for participants on Wednesday night. Thursday is a conference open to anyone, not just workshop participants, so if you're in Aberystwyth, you might consider stopping by. You can get detailed information and schedules from the Arts Centre (pdf)
