Voicing It!
“I took part in the second activity of the “Angle it right” work plan 2016 from the Youth Express Network which was held between the 30th of August and the 8th of September . The project called ‘Voice It!’ centered around the topic of digital storytelling. This project was held in Groznjan, a small village in Croatia, a truly magical place! The project lasted a total of eight days. Although it was a short time I do think that everybody who participated in this project shared the feeling that time passed very slowly, and that it was like we’ve known each other for years.
The aim of the project was to give young people with fewer opportunities the chance to express their talent, to tell their own life story and to empower them to see themselves differently. In this activity we had the opportunity to learn how to tell your story with digital tools. The training was given by a very talented movie-director who gave us among other things some technical aspects of movie making. We’ve learned for instance a little bit of the history of filmmaking, and also the development of the camera throughout history. We’ve also learned how to use our creativity to develop the different scenes in our personal stories and how to direct and film them. And finally to create a storyboard of the exact details that you want in your movie with regard to the different scenes.
This experience was great in many ways, I’ve learned a lot! First of all I had the opportunity to share one of my life stories. This was very challenging for me because this story was very personal and it forced me to face different aspects of myself which I’ve buried very deep inside. But it was very important for me to share this particular story and I’m happy that I did it. This experience was also quite inspiring because of all the unique stories of the other participants which I had the opportunity to hear. I’ve realized that story telling may it be digital or in any other way is very important. This is a way to connect with what bonds us as humans. After hearing all the stories of the other participants I found that we all have a certain type of connection as human beings, and by hearing the story of others you can see this connection. I could relate in a certain way to nearly all of the stories that I’ve heard. After listening to these different stories I’ve realized that we as a human beings are more the same than different, it does not matter where we come from. This is the connection that you feel with a person when they decide to open up and share a deep part of themselves. You will see this person as a human being and not as a particular stereotype.
So this was overall an unforgettable experience and inspiring in every way, personally for instance but also professionally. The bonds that we’ve made taking part in this activity will hopefully last for a long time. And I am very happy and grateful that I had the opportunity to take part in this activity.”
By Tim Baloche (Vocalsz, The Netherlands)