Story Gathering Workshop
EchoX’s DIGITIZE hosts a paid workshop opportunity for Washington State high school students to learn storytelling skills that centers around “own voices,” a central theme of unity and understanding across cultures (and community). Student participants in this workshop receive compensation upon submission of their final piece, either a minimum 1000-word article or a roughly three-minute audio piece.
2023 Story Gathering Pieces:
(Clockwise from top left: benkrut/Getty Images, Blue Arauz/Pexels, A Girl From Mogadishu/Film Collective, EchoX, 4volvos/Pixabay, ChinaImages/Deposit Photos, David Clode/Unsplash, Taya/EchoX, Alondra Gonzalez/EchoX, EchoX, D-Keine/Getty Images Signature, Andrei Berezovskii/Getty Images) On Being a Ukrainian American Teenager in 2023 by Emma
The Pressure to Excel — The East Asian Experience With Academic Validation by Emily
It Looks Just Like Heaven by Gabby
On Being Latino in Computer Science and Systemic Barriers by Isabel
The Fijian Life by Jada
A Look into Somalia’s Representation in Film by Jehan
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: We are not the same by Kahea
Growing Up in a Mixed-Latin Household: How My Family’s Core Beliefs and Experiences Impact Me Today by Lilian
Koryo-Saram: A Story About the Unreliable People by Taya
The workshop:
The workshop kicks off with an in-person meeting at Washington Hall where students learn a variety of skills such as how to conduct a thoughtful interview, how to pitch a project concept, identity mapping, and how to give critical feedback. During this meeting, students have time to brainstorm concepts for their project, either an article or a short audio piece. They later meet virtually in small groups based on similarities in project topics where they give each other feedback and finalize their project concepts. Students then have two months to schedule and complete three one-on-one with virtual sessions to workshop their pieces with our Communications Director.
The workshop concludes with an in-person showcase at Washington Hall where students invite their interview subjects, friends, and family to watch them present their article or audio piece. At the closing showcase, students who have submitted a completed piece will be presented with a certificate of completion and a $500 stipend for their work. Their pieces are later published on Voices, EchoX’s virtual collection of thoughtful news, art, and literary pieces. Each piece will be rotated through the EchoX homepage as a feature based on a schedule picked by the students.
The pieces:
The theme of the workshop is “own voices,” culture, and community. This might look like a piece about an aspect of the student’s ethnic or cultural community that they are particularly interested in or proud of and want to share (e.g., the history—and rise—of boba in the U.S., the cultural importance of bush burning to prevent uncontrolled wildfires) or something that they feel is misrepresented in mass media (e.g., the sacredness of regalia, the misunderstanding/‘othering’ of Asian foods, the underrepresentation of BIPOC communities in tech, etc.).
How to apply:
Applications for this workshop are now closed.
Questions, comments, or concerns? Email info@echox.org and a member of our team will get back to you shortly. Interested in our youth opportunities? Check out our Instagram page for the latest announcements and updates.
This workshop is sponsored by the City of Seattle. Thank you, Seattle!