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Violence
shapes the lives, experiences, and dreams of countless adults and
children each year. In the case of people of color, lesbian/gay/bisexual/
transgender individuals, and youth, this violence can be compounded
by experiences of racism; homo/transphobia; and ageism and insensitivity
to youth culture. Sadly, few opportunities exist for survivors to
tell their stories in their own words. Silence Speaks fills this
gap by connecting survivors and witness of abuse with their creativity
and making their voices the centerpiece of violence prevention and
social justice efforts.
Our goal
with Silence Speaks digital storytelling
workshops is to provide survivors, witnesses, and prevention
advocates diverse in age, race/ethnicity, religion, class, ability,
sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation with the support, skills,
and equipment they need to create original multimedia pieces of
courage and healing. We define violence broadly - stories created
in our workshops have addressed intimate partner and family abuse;
hate violence and racism; and the violence of poverty, political
persecution, and war. More about
our rationale . . .
Beyond
the workshops, we assist our storytellers and community partners
in identifying ways to share these stories, as a method of deepening
public understanding about the complexities of violence, promoting
survivor advocacy, and mobilizing people to take action in support
of violence prevention. More about how
Silence Speaks stories are being used to raise awareness and
support the prevention of violence . . .
Our workshops are held
in close collaboration with groups in the San Francisco Bay Area
and beyond. We teach at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley
and can also travel to conduct workshops in multimedia labs across
the U.S. and abroad. If you would like to explore the possibility
of attending or hosting a workshop in your area, please contact
us.
We would like to thank one of our original
storytellers, Amisha Patel, for generously allowing us to use the
project name “silence speaks,” which comes from a poem
she wrote and worked with for her digital story.
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