A Participatory Video program for experimenting with new
media technologies to create empowering narratives.
Digital Place-makers is a funded program in which participants learn how to use different digital media technologies for visualizing and sharing their perspectives on place-making and belonging while reflecting on ethical technological developments for enhancing newcomers agency through and in the digital.
Throughout six hands-on sessions, participants experiment with both analog (collaging, story-boarding, writing) and digital tools (desktop filming, video-making, photography, voice recording) to co-produce knowledge using their everyday life digital practices as a starting point. Together we created eleven short films that explore how to make a place in the host society, touching on topics like identities, belonging, aspirations, sociabilities, well-being, and livelihood opportunities.
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Digital Place-makers is part of the Translocal Lives research project that investigates the intersection between refugee settlement, place-making, and digital technologies.
Why take part?
1
Participants use different technological and new media tools to experiment with digital storytelling while designing, producing and shaping creative content.
3
Participants engage in relevant activities about (digital) media practices such as data privacy, platform logic, media consumption, digital literacy, and story-telling agency.
2
Participants take part in a six-week program with a group of diverse and like-minded people who are interested in learning more about newcomers' experiences in the city.
4
Participants are part of the co-production of a creative project that will provide guidelines and recommendations for actors of the local public, civil society, and the NGO sector.
About the program
The first edition of the Digital Place-makers program had ended, but we would love to share the results with you! Click here to watch the films produced by 11 newcomers.
Duration:
/ 6 weeks (closed)
Starting date:
/ Saturday 4th of September
Sessions:
/ Weekly in-person sessions every Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location:
/ Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Experience required?:
Not at all!
Translocal Lives
Translocal Lives is an arts-based research project to investigate the intersection between place-making, digital technologies, and the settlement experiences of newcomers. We will work in the city of Rotterdam to explore together how technology and digital media can be used in creative ways to shape your participation within the host society and your experiences in the city. How do you create a sense of place? What challenges do you face in your everyday life? How do you experience digital media in your everyday life and how do you think your media experiences and of others around you and the community can include/exclude newcomers?
Project schedule
Individual Interviews
/ June and July /
As part of the program, we conducted in-depth interviews get to know participants before the creative workshops started. In a 1 hour individual interview, we aim at getting a better sense of their story, who they are, and what motivates them. In this way, we could better tailor the content of the creative workshops to make sure they fit with their expectations and goals.
Digital Place-makers program
/ September and October /
The creative workshops took place during 6 weeks. We met in group sessions on Saturdays to co-produce participatory videos that explored each of the participants’ experiences in the city. We learned and used different digital methods to create the stories: desktop filming, taking pictures, recording voice-notes, exploring social media, story-boarding, and much more!
Co-production and Screening
/ November and December /
Finally, together we organized and co-produced a Screening Night event at KINO Rotterdam with more than 50 attendees. The goal was to open a discussion with representatives of the local public, the civil society, and private and NGO sectors about the participants' experiences of resettlement and how these can be improved for them and for future newcomers.
In collaboration with
Language & Training
Centre
Stichting
Erasmus Trustfunds
Vital Cities
and Citizens
ERMeCC
