To tell OUR stories: youth memories on refuge and resilience

What is your story?

This project is about life stories. Stories that most people rarely hear about. Stories that are important and that must be told to be remembered. And it can be about you and your story – portrayed in a graphic novel.

We invite youth to participate in the international oral history project „To tell OUR stories: youth memories on refuge and resilience“. We are looking for young people – no matter from which background – who have personal experience in the context of war and displacement, young people who had to leave their home behind at some point in their life and who would like to share their experiences and are ready to exchange with others.

Our project goal is to make various personal stories associated with forced displacement and life in a “new home” visible by means of a jointly created graphic novel. Through the mutual exchange of personal experiences we want to strengthen and empower participants, currently living in Germany and in Ukraine, to raise their voice.

What to expect? We will hold a ten-day training seminar for participants in oral history, a scientific method which is widely used to document and publish personal life stories. Based on collected interviews, the participants, with the professional help of an artist, will create a graphic novel that will later be published and presented in Germany and Ukraine. The training seminar will take place from May 19^th to 28^th, 2023, at the Gustav Stresemann Institut in Bad Bevensen (Germany). Participants, currently based in Germany and in Ukraine, will meet, learn and work together on the graphic novel. There will plenty be of time for interactive exchange and fun things to do and to discover. We are well aware of the sensitivity of the topics and will do our best to provide a learning environment in which all participants feel as safe as possible. Some of the team members have themselves personal experience as a refugee or displaced person.

All costs related to participation (travel, food, accommodation, etc.) will be covered by the project.

How to apply? You can submit your application on this website or by email to Daniel.bernhardt@gsi-bevensen.de Please leave us your name and address and write some lines about yourself and why you want to be a part of this project. Deadline for applications is on May 1st, 2023.

Participation requirements:

• Personal experience with forced displacement as a refugee or other
• Currently based and living in Germany (nationality does NOT matter!)
• 18 to 35 years old
• At least intermediate skills in English
• Willingness to participate in an international exchange project with participants from Ukraine and other countries
• Strong motivation to learn and apply the method of oral history and to work on a graphic novel together