Story Jam

What is it?

 

In 2022 I was a facilitator of Story Jam: New Neighbours and in 2023 of Story Jam: Reveal. With Story Jam: New Neighbours we wanted to challenge stereotypes and expose commonly held myths, put migrants' voices at the centre of discussions about migration and deliver innovative messages to promote the integration of Dutch newcomers into local communities. Participants included people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, sometimes from countries in active conflict. Sometimes tension was high, and we needed to slow down the group to solve a difficult moment, before they could return to their creative teams.

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Every year Storytellers United has been organising Story Jam in cooperation with IMPAKT, Mezrab, the World Makers Foundation, Sound & Vision and the Netherlands Film Festival. During three days, creatives worked together in multidisciplinary teams under the guidance of mentors on new innovative story prototypes. 

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Projects developed at Story Jam cast a light on invisible technical and social processes that underlie the media landscape we are immersed in. Every project uses the medium that best suits the makers and their story, and could for example take the form of a web experience, but also be VR, performance, app or installation. After three days of working together, teams shared their results publicly during the Netherlands Film Festival Professionals Program.​​