With so much ‘noise’ in public discourse, it’s difficult for civic activists to get their stories heard. But help is at hand. In 2023 our EU-funded Eastern Partnership Civil Society Facility Project, in partnership with OEEC, will run an online course on ‘Storytelling for Civil Society’.
The course will run for approximately 6 weeks (during February/March 2023) and will include a mixture of ‘live’ workshops, video tutorials, individual coaching, and home assignments. The course will be delivered through the ‘Cities of Learning’ platform, with successful participants receiving certificates and ‘Cities of Learning’ online platform credits.
- Civil society leaders / project leaders / communication managers working in civil society organisations from the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), as well as activists and volunteers, social start-up leaders, social entrepreneurs.
- You will better understand why stories are the most powerful communication tool;
- You will be able to convert some of your messages into powerful stories;
- You will be able to successfully create and shape your own stories;
- You will learn how to shift your audience’s perceptions about your messages;
- You will know how to broadcast your stories more widely and convincingly.
The course is delivered in English through the ‘Cities of Learning’ platform, with a playlist of 12 videos, workshops and exercises. Participants joining the course may follow most of the elements of the playlist in their own time, however there are 3 ‘live workshops’ which will be delivered at two-week intervals during February and March 2023.
In order to receive a certificate, participants must successfully complete at least the three mandatory elements on the playlist plus one element of their choice. In addition, for those participants who demonstrate high levels of engagement in the workshops and homework assignments, the course will provide tailored one-to-one coaching sessions, given by the course experts to assist participants with specific aspects of their storytelling. The coaching service will be provided on a limited basis and on-demand of participants.
Our course brings together different experienced professionals and creatives from the region to share their knowledge and skills with you. The two live workshops (Creative Communications Workshop and Storytelling & Human Rights) and coaching services will be led by Julia Salizhenko and Lena Shandrak. The third workshop will be announced soon!
Julia Salizhenko is the creative director of Platfor.ma – agency for social change and online magazine. As an expert in creative communications and management, she consulted more than 30 media and NGOs from Ukraine, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia. Together with the team, she launched over a hundred communication projects for Ukrainian and foreign organizations and businesses, including UNICEF, WWF, UN, World Health Organization, Grammarly, and others.
Lena Shandrak has a background in Journalism and has been a youth worker since 2016. She worked and volunteered for different CSOs in Belarus, Germany, Denmark as trainer, facilitator and project coordinator. Since 2019, she has organized and facilitated several local and international workshops on digital storytelling for different target groups. She believes that every story that is shared with others helps people be more supportive and understanding.
The course is free and will be open to all from civil society in the Eastern Partnership countries via the ‘Cities of Learning’ portal. All those interested in joining the course should apply with this participation form.
Details of the confirmed course start date and the times/dates of the ‘live workshops’ will be published on our web site, and social media, and on the ‘Cities of Learning’ portal.
100% online, a mixture of ‘live’ workshops, video tutorials, individual coaching, and home assignments
- The working language of the course is English. Live workshops and home assignments will be delivered in English. Some of the video materials will be available in Russian with English subtitles.
- Duration: 6 weeks.
- Learning period: February 1 – March 15, 2023 + additional mentoring hours for selected participants.
- 3 ‘live workshops’ will be delivered at two-week intervals during February and March 2023.
Please note that the indicated dates may slightly change.
Maximum 25 participants will be selected for this course.
- Real case studies
- Individual coaching sessions
- Networking opportunities
- Successful participants will receive certificates and online ‘Cities of Learning’ platform credits.
