New Models of Citizen Generated Media

From September 2006 to June of 2007, Creative Narrations Co-Director, Natasha Freidus, worked in conjunction with the municipality of Vilanova i la Geltrú and The Department of Communications at Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Tarragona, to pilot and evaluate the digital storytelling methodology in Catalonia, Spain. “Created by Catalonia” explored new models for citizen generated media in the transition to Digital Terrestial Television. The pilot began in the fall of 2006 with the design and implementation of a digital storytelling train-the-trainer series. Potential trainers from grassroots media efforts, civil associations, and public entities were recruited to take part in a series of intensive workshops. Both the first workshop, in November, and the second workshop, in March of 2007, lasted for four days where sixteen participants learned about the theory and practice of digital storytelling by creating their own stories. Participants wrote first person scripts in either Catalan or Spanish, recorded their voices, manipulated digital images, and edited together their media into brief video projects. Trainers represented a range of social and cultural interests including public health, youth development, the public libraries, museums, and cultural affairs. Upon completing the training, participants created an implementation plan to bring digital storytelling back to their place of work. Current projects include digital storytelling in public health presentations in elementary schools, interactive stories at the museums, and local artist stories to promote cultural events. Natasha's stay in Tarragona was made possible with a Fulbright Fellowship. See sample stories.