ZeroDivide Digital Storytelling Institute

Tell your stories

The ZeroDivide Digital Storytelling Institute is a train-the-trainer program, helping California community-based organizations develop social change digital storytelling programs that involve youth, by incorporating information, media and technology tool training.

Launched in 2004, the ZeroDivide Digital Storytelling Institute (DSI) is a program of the Community Technology Foundation of California (CTFC) and the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)—jointly funded by CTFC and the MCI Foundation—to develop digital storytelling programs and community content from nonprofits in California underserved communities.

Stories can build community. Powerful storytelling evokes the personal experience and introduces us to new or previously unheard voices. Community storytelling and multimedia narratives, focused on social inequity and injustice, can even become forces for social change by underserved communities. The advent of affordable and accessible technologies has opened up new methods for communities to engage in creating community narratives.

What does this program offer you?

If your organization currently offers programs that connect community and technology and is interested in expanding into digital storytelling, you should apply. The DSI offers an array of training, resources and expertise—designed with nonprofits in mind—to get you up to speed quickly on digital storytelling with the computers and software you already have and are familiar with.

• Training: (1) an introductory three-day interactive training for all participating agencies at BAVC’s state of the art facilities in San Francisco, followed by (2) a five-day on-site training workshop where the DSI experts come to your organization and tailor the training content to your needs and goals for digital storymaking.
  
  
• Technical support: DSI provides email, phone support, and technical assistance for up to ninety days following the on-site training as you work on your digital stories.
  
  
• Resources and curriculum: The DSI curriculum is based on BAVC’s expertise as one of the leading media arts nonprofits in the country. Each organization also receives BAVC’s Brainglow, an instructional DVD designed for community digital storytellers. The curriculum is also available on the DSI site.
  
  
• Community and networking: The DSI is structured to be a learning community and network, with a participatory listserv and website. The completed stories will be featured on the DSI site and we ask that organizations provide a public, community screening of their finished works as well.

Application deadline is Friday, January 13, 2006 at 5:00 pm

Participant schedule:

• Orientation workshop at BAVC:
  This three day workshop will be a basic overview of digital storytelling. Each organization can send two staff members (or one staff person and one board/client/member). All participants will produce a story.
  
  
  • Pre-workshop preparation: (approximately 4 hours)
    
    
• Day one: February 28th, 9:30am - 5:30pm
  Orientation / Developing Stories / Storyboards & Scripts
  


• Day two: March 1, 9:30am - 5:30pm
  Production Basics / Image Gathering/ Voiceover Recording
  


• Day three: March 2, 9:30am - 5:30pm
  Post-Production Basics



• Onsite workshop:
  Approximately 4-5 hours will be needed to prepare for this workshop. The digital storytelling liaison will be responsible for coordinating the workshop dates with the BAVC coordinator and making sure the participants from your organization have reviewed the pre-workshop materials distributed in the orientation.
  


• The five day training workshop will be held at your organization. Seven hours of training will be provided each day. The fifth day will include a consultation session on how to integrate the curriculum presented during the workshop and a discussion on how to distribute the stories produced.

Who should apply?
You should apply if you are a California community-based organizations that has:

• A program that engages underserved community members with innovative uses of technology and multimedia. We are especially interested in community programs that engage youth in K-12 settings
  
  
• A mission, project or campaign focused on social justice for the benefit of underserved communities
  
  
• A strong desire to share community-developed digital stories with wider audiences, such as media outlets and policymakers
  
  
• Existing community technology capacity with a history and successful track record of providing community-based technology access, training, sufficient technology, and staff resources to incorporate multimedia digital storytelling
  
  
• A passion to communicate great stories

What are the expectations for your organization if selected?

Staff: Assigning a specific staff person to be the digital storytelling liaison and ensuring that he or she has the flexibility and time to dedicate towards participation in the DSI

Participation: Full attendance at workshops.

Stories: A commitment to produce two to three digital stories within four months following the onsite training. A discussion guide and/or an information guide should accompany the stories produced.

Screenings: Each organization must organize one screening within four months of the onsite training.

On-going networking: All participants and their corresponding organizations will become part of the DSI network through the listserv, website and in person convening opportunities.

Learn more about digital storytelling and view examples

You can get more information about digital storytelling and find great resources at:

• The ZeroDivide Digital Storytelling Institute site: digitalstorytelling.zerodivide.org
  
  
• Center for Digital Storytelling: www.storycenter.org
  
  
• Third World Majority: www.thirdworldmajority.org
  
  
• Sample stories to promote social change/justice:
  • www.massimpact-ds.org/default.aspx
  • www.creativenarrations.net/site/projects.html
    
    
• Hilary McLellan's Story Link: www.tech-head.com/dstory.htm
  This has the most extensive and most up-to-date links to online resources

Questions? Please email us at digitalstorytelling@zerodivide.org