Angeline Koh was invited to speak and introduce digital storytelling to more than 300 tertiary students at the Metamorphosis camp organised by the Singapore Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC) on 27 December 2011.
The DSA team, with the help of CCC staff, also conducted a three-hour digital storytelling workshop with the theme My Life, My Story. The students used various devices (iPad, iPhone, laptops, etc) to create their stories. By the end of the fast, group activity, they were able to showcase their videos. Kudos, everyone!
“The sharing of stories at the digital storytelling workshops give me rare opportunities to cross race, language, and religious boundaries. We connect with each other as one human being to another. We talk about our mums, our dads, siblings, work, struggles, our likes our dislikes, our concerns, our dreams…Cultural boundaries fade…I can see digital storytelling filling up a lot of our social gaps,” said Digital Storytelling Asia (DSA) founder Angeline Koh at her keynote speech at the 6th Digital Storytelling Festival (ds6) in Wales.
Digital storytelling practitioners and enthusiasts from different parts of UK and other countries gathered last 17 June 2011 at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre for the annual festival.
Angeline talked about “Digital Storytelling in Multicultural Singapore”. She presented the huge potential of the use of digital stories in Singapore with its technological advancement and critical need of discovering, preserving, and sharing the stories of its people.
An excerpt from Angeline’s speech:
While digital storytelling has been widely used in the US, UK, Australia and a few other countries since almost two decades ago, it is not even quite at the infancy stage in Singapore. DSA takes the challenge of pioneering the work in the region.
At the festival, many participants enjoyed sharing ideas, making connections, and encouraging one another. It created a buzz in Twitter:
BBCommArts Breaking Barriers
#ds6 angeline koh – what an inspiration
@Karl_multistory
Karl Greenwood
‘Media shows our need to connect with each other’ Angeline Koh #ds6
@BBCommArts
Breaking Barriers
#ds6 angeline koh really passionate about #digitalstorytelling the story media for the people
@Karl_multistory
Karl Greenwood
#ds6 Angeline Koh ‘Digital storytelling can fill in social gaps’
@getgood
Nicky Getgood
#ds6 “all I wanted to do was tell my story and help other people tell their stories.” Angeline Koh speaks for so many people there!
@digistories
Barrie Stephenson
Cultural boundaries fade at the digital storytelling workshop. Angeline Koh (Singapore) #DS6@
@MoreHavoc
Christopher Carney
@hannahnicklin Gosh! Good work Singapore!
On a separate interview, Julie Gade (Story Field, Copenhagen, www.storyfield.dk), one of the speakers at the festival said: “I’ve really enjoyed the festival. What I’m taking away from here is all the different ways of using digital storytelling that’s breaking a little bit out of the traditional way…people are rethinking the ways they’re using digital storytelling.”
“I was very inspired by Storyworks that does really nice films and the ways they’re using it…and also by Pip Hardy (www.patientvoices.org.uk) …that people who can’t even use their hands to control their mouse but she’s still managed to pull stories out of them – that’s really inspiring.”
Another participant, Brian McCausland (England) shared: “Meeting such great people from all over the world who are all interested in digital storytelling has really been encouraging…and I got lots of interesting ideas, fascinating ideas that I’m gonna follow up…I think telling stories is so powerful…I especially want to work with older people so they can make digital stories for future generations to enjoy because I think it will be lovely to give that as a gift to the future generations.”
Organised by the Arts Centre, Aberystwyth University, the yearly event is Wales’ premier festival to celebrate international digital storytelling and is supported by the Arts Council of Wales, National Assembly of Wales and the BBC.
Every June since 2006, facilitators and participants gather in Aberystwyth (Wales) for the International Festival of Digital Storytelling (DS). For the first time, an Asian storyteller is one of the keynote speakers.
Digital Storytelling Asia’s (DSA) founder, Singaporean Angeline Koh, will kick off the sixth digital storytelling festival (DS6) with her address on “Digital Storytelling in Multicultural Singapore.”
“The selection panel is very interested in the DS work you have been doing, particularly in the multicultural environment in Singapore,” said Esko Reinikainen, chairman, DS Cymru.
“Wales was the hub that ignited and spawned DS movements all over the UK and beyond. DS has come to Singapore even if only embryonic. I want to see DS become a movement in Asia. I look forward to learning from DS veterans who have blazed the DS path before us,” said Angeline Koh.
DS6 will be held on the 17 June 2011 at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wales’ award winning and largest arts centre, recognised as a ‘national flagship for the arts’. The festival promises to inspire, encourage and show exciting possibilities of digital storytelling. DSA’s co-pioneer, Aurelia L Castro, will also participate in the festival.
“Whether you work in education, the community, or as an artist, this is your opportunity to share experiences, explore new creative ideas, see the latest technological developments, look at examples of best practise in the UK and worldwide and celebrate the growing significance of digital storytelling.”
Au and I had an amazing and affirming time in the USA. We learned so much at the Facilitators in Training (FIT) workshop in Denver and our understanding and ability to tell stories has got up several notches.
We put into application all that we learned and ran a workshop four days after our FIT training for 15 Navigator staff at the US headquarters. It was attended by key leaders in staff training, communications, leadership, and other invited friends. One participant wrote immediately after the workshop saying:
I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for the Digital Storytelling workshop. I learned so much more than I ever expected and felt so well supported throughout the process. Confining my “story” to a few minute video was a challenge, but processing through my thoughts in that way was an awesome experience. When I showed my mom my video, she was crying in the first 10 seconds! - Caitlin Barber
Following the workshop, we did a 20-minute presentation showcasing a few of the stories from our workshop to 90 artists from all over the US. After the presentation, we suddenly found ourselves no longer strangers in the gathering. People were coming to us to tell us how moved they were and if we could go over to teach them… Seattle, New York, Colorado Springs, Alaska, California, Kazakhstan and India. Of course a lot has to happen in between if ever these workshops happen, but the fact that people were asking tells me that we are touching open nerves and meeting needs.
Bringing quality Asian content to children is vital as it would allow children to be aware of Asia’s unique environment and cultural values, promote understanding of, and love for the literary and visual arts.
Over 400 Singapore and international experts from the children’s content industry will gather in Singapore for the inaugural Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2010.
Join experts as they share and imagine a new world for children and youth. Check out www.afcc.com.sg for more information.
Jointly organised by The Arts House and The National Book Development Council of Singapore.
In his National Day Rally speech on 14 August 2011, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong quotes DSA's founder Angeline Koh's Telling the Singapore Story. The article which emphasizes the need for Singapore to capture stories was published in the Today papers on 10 August 2011.
"This workshop has been a watershed moment for me and I believe for many others also..." - Victor Toh, Singapore
About the stories
The stories in this site are owned by the storytellers and used with their kind permission. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Digital Storytelling Asia and are posted for your enjoyment and for educational purposes.
Thank you storytellers for sharing your stories.
DSA is a partner of Singapore Memory Project a national movement to
collect 5 million stories by 2015
when Singapore turns 50
