Hello! Nicole here.  Last week Nelle, Shivani and I were really lucky to be at the Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) Training co-hosted with one of our other local partners, The America India Foundation (AIF).    As participants we learned so much about creative pedagogy and how AVY applies it and were thrilled to interact with our teaching assistants outside of the classroom and as educators we were able to lead several parts of the training.  I was especially excited to facilitate a workshop on Creative Confidence.

“Creative Confidence” at AYV from The Modern Story on Vimeo.

This idea of creative confidence, of ownership, of assuredness that your voice is the best voice for for folks to hear a story from is incredibly important to me.  It’s what drew me to digital storytelling when I first heard about it in college and it’s what informs every decision I make when it’s late at night and I’m lesson planning at our dining room table that’s always a little cramped with whiteboards, backup hard drives and student’s journals.  In each class we’ve tried to make a conscious effort to present ourselves as facilitators more so than teachers with all of the answers and in some it’s been easier than in others to get the students to step up.  For example, my students at Seethaphalmandi school are in pre-production on a series of “digital postcards” about the culture of Hyderabad and the first one is centered on typical styles of dressing.  It didn’t take them long to realize that in this situation they had to teach me.  They’re confident in their knowledge of the topic and they’re excited to share what they know with anyone who wants to watch their video.

Nithyanand storyboarding at Seethaphalmandi!

At the school discussed in the workshop, West Marredpally, however, the task was a little bit more daunting.  My students were quick to point out to me that most people in their community give more freedom and privileges to boys and also very attune to the massive dearth of movies with strong female, particularly young female leads and so I pushed them to make the connection between the two issues.  I was scribbling their ideas on the board and pushing them to tell me why (“why don’t people make these movies?” “why won’t people go see them?” “why do you think only women would go?”) and on and on. At first, they seemed to think that every time I pushed on it was because they had the wrong answer and it was a bit of a challenge to assure them that they were so completely right and that I was excited about where we were getting, but we finally came full circle with five minutes left on our Tuesday class and one girl confidently pointed out that if movies can shape thoughts and thoughts can shape actions in a negative way then the opposite must also be true and there was the creative confidence I had been searching for.  The class is entering the production phase determined not only to take great photographs or speak clearly when recording the voiceover, but to use these tools that tells a story that will change the hearts and minds of those within and outside of their community.  Also, on the subject of determination, all of this talk about the strength of girls has led to many a conversation about a girl gang of superheroes, which to me sounds like it has all the trappings of a great action movie for project #2.  Stay tuned!