Why family matters to me. Findings from digital story-telling in 8 countries

In this paper, we examine what the family means to children and adults in 8 countries using evidence from 59 short films made using the digital storytelling (DST) technique, and discuss the value of DST for work on child care... [ view full abstract ]

In this paper, we examine what the family means to children and adults in 8 countries using evidence from 59 short films made using the digital storytelling (DST) technique, and discuss the value of DST for work on child care and protection, focusing in particular on the use of DST in India. DST uses storytelling methods to gain deep insights into feelings and experiences. Participants then create individual stories about aspects of their own lives using still images and sound.

The films suggest a number of country specific preoccupations that affect certain groups of children. This suggests that all policy makers must make efforts to understand the particular needs of children in their contexts and to shape responses based on these perspectives. However, the films also reveal some more generic issues which apply to children across all of the contexts. For example, the films illustrate the importance of families for meeting children's material and non-material needs, and the need for proper investments in families. The films show how children's needs can be met in a range of family types, and how abuse and neglect can also occur within all forms of family, suggesting that legislation and support for families must recognises the validity of different family types. The films also illustrate a strong link between education and care.

The films highlight the importance of listening to children to both inform policy change and identify individual support needs. They show how DST can be used to gain deep unique insights into children’s lives. The experience of eight national NGOs in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America show DST can be an effective tool for advocacy, awareness raising and case management, with DST representing a fresh, innovative approach which makes audiences listen and think in a way that the written word cannot.