The stories were created through a participatory workshop process that allowed participants to share their stories verbally, write them into short scripts, collect photos and video clips, and finally record their stories. Participants were guided through hands-on computer tutorials that gave them the skills to create the digital stories.

According to the organisers, the workshops were structured in a way that took great care to balance emotional support with focused production tasks. This is in accordance with the Center for Digital Storytelling's Silence Speaks methodology, which adapts principles from popular education, art therapy, trauma recovery, and group processes to ensure opportunities for personal and collective transformation.

The stories are available for use by other organisations wishing to conduct workshops around violence and HIV/AIDS. Sonke has developed a guide for workshop facilitators, “Responding to Violence and HIV/AIDS: Digital Stories from Southern Africa Facilitator's Guide,” that provides information about using the digital stories in workshop settings. Click here to download the facilitator's guide in PDF format.

Although the workshops were held in South Africa, individuals from Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland also participated.


Click here for stories from the 2007 workshop.

Gender, HIV/AIDS, Gender Violence