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FROM THE FIELD

Women Find Empowerment Through Digital Storytelling
07 Apr 2009 20:47:00 GMT
 Source: Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International
Nadia McGill

Website: Website: http://www.adra.org

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SILVER SPRING, Md.--At the 53rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held March 2 to March 13, in New York City, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) sponsored "Digital Storytelling," an event that highlighted the use of digital media as a powerful platform that gives survivors of gender-based violence the ability to determine how they are viewed and how their personal accounts are told.

"Digital Storytelling is a medium used to bring the stories of women's lives to the foreground through both video imaging, and still pictures," said John Torres, senior public relations manager for ADRA International. "These short productions express the many and varied experiences and challenges that women around the world face on a day-to-day basis."

During this CSW event, held at the Church Center for the United Nations, participants received an introduction on digital storytelling and its potential in communicating important issues in women's development. Amy Hill, Silence Speaks/Special Projects director at the Center for Digital Storytelling, in Berkeley, California, highlighted the importance of giving women the tools to voice their stories on their own terms, by presenting digital stories from South Africa, Uganda, and the United States.

Through digital storytelling, youth and adults are able to use existing media tools to record, produce, and share stories from their lives in ways that promote artistic expression, health and well being, and justice.

"ADRA is actively engaged in empowering women globally. By supporting communication methods that allow them to speak candidly about their personal challenges and aspirations, we are giving them a voice that will ultimately contribute toward transforming their own communities for the better," said Hearly Mayr, director for Public Awareness at ADRA International.

Dr. Naomi Miller, point person for Women and Gender in Development for ADRA International, who also attended the event, coordinated the program with support from the office of Public Awareness.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) created the CSW in 1946 to promote the rights of women in the political, economic, civil, social, and educational fields. It is held every year at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, to evaluate progress made towards gender equality, identify new challenges, establish global standards and create policies that work to achieve the advancement of women.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.

For more information about ADRA, visit www.adra.org.




[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]

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