Stories for Impact
2025 Workshops & Capacity Building Programs
Thank you for this opportunity.
Our vision is a peaceful and connected world in which people, prosperity and planet are in harmony for future generations. Our mission is to co-create this world through the power of storytelling by supporting others to tell and share their stories.
Founded in 2013, our non-profit company is made up of film-makers and social entrepreneurs from six countries (we love our team and the various communities in which we work). Through thick and thin, we became a proudly certified B Corp in 2017, as well as a certified social enterprise by Social Traders in 2018.
By choosing us to go on a storytelling journey with you, you can rest assured you are supporting positive impact storytelling in the world. We are honoured to help you scale your positive impact through storytelling. Given the times in which we live, our world demands no less of us.
Thank you, the team at Digital Storytellers.
Overview
Stories For Impact is a tried and true immersive program that supports participants to create their own stories using smartphones and other affordable equipment. Our programs help activate and engage networks around themes, by building a community of practice, facilitating group touch points and providing members with new capacity that straddles technology and storytelling. Our outcome is a more inclusive community - sharing the storytelling shares the power.
We tailor our approach and materials to the needs and desired outcomes of the group we are working with. We work in a variety of formats including online and face-to-face, from one-hour workshops to months-long programs.
Overview of topics:
- How to brainstorm story ideas
- Narrative frameworks
- How to use mobile phones, cameras and accessible technology to film interviews and cutaways
- How to capture good quality audio
- How to edit footage together on smartphones, tablets or computers
- Best current video story sharing practices
- Using the power of story for presentations
Let’s change the world together, using the power of storytelling....
Learning modules
These modules form the basis of our workshops, but are adapted and tailored for different groups and purposes.
Find Your Story
This workshop will help participants to brainstorm and distill their story ideas through our ‘Story Canvas’ - a brainstorming tool based on the popular Business Model Canvas that provides a lens for telling stories that resonate with audiences and build into a successful campaign.
This workshop will cover:
- What makes a great impact story (including examples)
- The Story Canvas - including audience, purpose, key messages, style and tone, people and places, campaign and outcomes
- Narrative structures for impact stories
- Ethics of digital storytelling
Make Your Story
This VERY hands on workshop will give participants the skills to produce powerful content - without the need for expensive equipment or a big budget - through the use of smartphones, tablets and more to film interviews and cutaways.
This workshop will cover:
- How to gather good quality footage and audio using your smartphone, tablet or camera
- Filming a 'piece to camera' or interview, including framing and conduct
- Voiceovers
- Gathering b-roll, cutaways and photos
- Using royalty-free stock footage, photos and audio
Edit Your Story
This workshop will demystify the ‘black box’ of post-production and take participants through a step-by-step process to bring their footage together into a short, sharp and shareable piece. We work with a variety of editing platforms on smartphones, tablets and computers, depending on what is appropriate and accessible for your group.
This workshop will cover:
- Editing platforms for smartphones, tablets and computers
- Workflow
- Editing interviews
- Layering cutaways/b-roll
- Transitions
- Music
- Graphics and titles
- Exporting
- Captions and subtitling
- Acquiring and editing royalty-free music tracks
Share Your Story
This workshop will explore how to get story out into the world and reach the audiences you need to take action. Learn strategies for engagement in the online or offline engagement and how to create impact and community behind your cause.
This workshop will cover:
● Identifying the best channels for your content
● Best practices for sharing and engagement
● Tools for sharing and insights
Present Your Story
This workshop will allow participants to practice telling their story through presentation, each walking away with guidance on what makes a powerful impact story 'pitch' and understanding the importance of storifying presentations.
This workshop will cover:
- The '5 t-shirts' method for pitch preparation
- Presentation skills for in-person and virtual delivery
- Incorporating audio-visual content, to 'show' and not just 'tell' your impact story
Workshop and Program formats
Our training programs can take all sorts of exciting shapes to bring together your community.
From one-hour introductions to three-month long programs, online sessions and face-to-face engagements, our workshops and programs can be tailored to a variety of formats and delivery modes.
Here are a few ideas:
- One hour or half-day introductory workshop: Want your team or community to be inspired by the power of storytelling and enthusiastic to learn more? A short workshop is the perfect way to get hands-on, learn some best practice and see what's possible.
- Two-day program: A two day process where participants learn how to find, make, edit and share their own stories, making a film in the process. Want to make stories suitable for sharing on your channels? Spread the two days out over a period of a few weeks and give participants the chance to gather additional footage.
- Bootcamp: A three-day or one week bootcamp will see storytellers immerse themselves in the skills and build connection with each other, establishing a community of practice and collaboration.
- Four to six week online program: Build your storytelling capacity with a custom designed online program. It consists of hands-on online weekly workshops, on-a large suite of video and written tutorials, and a growing base of tools and resources.
- Challenge: An exciting time-bound storytelling competition including a screening event with awards and online voting.
- Retreat or conference: Build a storytelling session into your next retreat or conference.
Our Work
UNDP Somalia - Somali Storytellers
Writing a new narrative for Somali through the power of community storytelling
Overview: Individual stories are powerful tools for shifting the minds, hearts and actions of audiences. But when they form part of a greater narrative of change, they can help drive movements of systemic societal change.
This was the ethos behind the Somali Storytellers bootcamp, which we ran in partnership with UNDP Somalia Accelerator Lab, alongside Somali-American filmmaker Abdisalam Aato and researchers from the Queensland University of Technology. The bootcamp launched Somalia’s first digital storytelling collective, Somali Storytellers, to write a new story for the future of Somalia by amplifying the stories of locally-driven solutions to development challenges.
- Worked with UNDP Accelerator Labs in Somalia to build a collective of young storytellers with skills to create powerful and rapid-response digital content around key issues in the region including Gender Based Violence, Local Solutions and Health.
- Deliverables: 5-day bootcamp, 6-week virtual mentorship, online training platform
- Medium Article: Somali Storytellers Helping to Spread the Word Not the Virus
SENVIC (Social Enterprise Network of Victoria)
Strengthening networks and building a community of practice
In the midst of 2020, and during one of the longest lockdowns in the world, the Social Enterprise Network of Victoria (SENVIC) initiated a program to bring the sector together from across the state under a shared vision and purpose to tell their stories.
Led by CEO, Nick Verginis, and supported by the Victorian Government, SENVIC needed to:
- Find a way to make the diversity and innovation of social enterprise sector visible during a time when brick and mortar stores were closed and help activate the enterprises trying to quickly ‘pivot’ online;
- Nurture and deepen the connection across the social enterprise community to overcome the isolation of lockdown, which cannot be underestimated;
- Increase the collective video storytelling skills of the sector through a shared learning experience no matter their level of video and editing skills; and
- Develop a bank of ‘story artefacts’ or films that would help to showcase their work and create a rallying cry for local communities to support these enterprises doing such important work.
Our team created and facilitated a six-week online learning program for SENVIC that included practical and tactical weekly workshops, as well as virtual consultations with each team or organisation that was part of the program. They also set about documenting the process and producing a vision story for SENVIC to be used for promotional and community-building purposes once the program was complete.
“I loved it. I loved what we produced. I think it should be an essential course for every start up.” – Andrea, Gippsland Social Enterprise Collective
What emerged from the program was not only the 13 x 2-minute stories that each of the enterprises created, but an incredible transformation and connection between the participants. The chance to bring together a geographically isolated and socially distanced community of social enterprises from across the state to articulate strong stories of hope made this one of the most pride-filling projects we’ve had the chance to be part of at Digital Storytellers. And we’re thrilled with the way that participants went about using their new ‘story artefacts’ through newsletters and social media.
ANROWS (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety)
Story as a process for reflecting on and understanding impact
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety is an independent, not-for-profit research organisation established to produce evidence to support the reduction of violence against women and their children. ANROWS supports 24 projects in Action Research in CALD communities and engaged Digital Storytellers to support these organisations to use story to reflect on the effectiveness of their programs and share their findings. Digital Storytellers and ANROWS, jointly developed the program, with the tremendous investigative and ethical rigour that is elemental to ANROWS’ work.
ANROWS-supported projects deal with some of the most sensitive subject matters in some of the most vulnerable communities throughout the whole of Australia. Supporting the storytellers and their communities was a highly process-oriented journey. We put great care into developing the framing and conducting the process.
The participating organisations were guided through the process of
- exploring their impact by engaging and listening to the stories of stakeholders in the communities they serve
- refining the learnings and impact story of their programs into a compelling narrative, using the Story Canvas
- capturing voices and video in sensitive ways, including processes for protecting safety and preserving anonymity, and culturally safe practices for content creation
- editing on smartphones and computers
- Finally, the Digital Storytellers team, collected and created closed captions for the stories before delivering them to ANROWS, who created this page showcasing all the wonderful stories along with their project findings. https://www.anrows.org.au/research-program/culturally-and-linguistically-diverse-projects-with-action-research/cald-par-digital-stories/
Read the full case study on our portfolio.
Video: "George St Neighbourhood Club - CALD Women's Club Story"
The (re)Generation Project Macquarie University
The (re)Generation Project is a Macquarie University research project, aiming to uncover what inspires young people to engage with nature. Part of the research process was to ask 22 to tell stories, through film, about what they believe would inspire their peers to adventure into that natural world.
Digital Storytellers ran a storytelling program over 6 weeks to teach the participants how to FIND, MAKE & EDIT their stories. We also provided extensive virtual support between the workshops to assist the participants with narrative development, production planning and post-production.
Learn more about our Stories For Impact storytelling workshops, where we train you or your students to make your own films using available technology such as mobile phones.
Testimonials
Kat Young,
CERES, The Sustainability Hub
Learn more about this project
I absolutely loved the course! The programme brought different people with common goals together, providing a creative and inspiring setting to extend our storytelling skills. The process from story canvassing to filming and editing was much more straightforward than I anticipated and I found the whole experience very empowering. Kim and Tania were wonderful facilitators and the ongoing support was greatly appreciated and much needed… Seeing our shorts up on the big screen was also a great bonus to the programme!
Sophie Lamond,
Fair Food Challenge
Learn more about this project
It was such a good experience to participate in the Digital Storytellers workshop – I walked into the room not having a clue how to put together a video and by the end of the weekend felt I had a grasp on a really useful new skill. We’ve made a couple of videos for our organisation and are already starting to see how much difference its making to our comms. Doing the program through the Environmental Film Festival meant we got the chance to meet some amazing young change makers and we’re looking forward to see what all the other participants have been up to.
David Sutton, Principal
Maryborough Education Centre
Learn more about this project
The Goldfields Digital Storytellers Program has provided an excellent opportunity for the young people of our Shire to share the stories the stories that matter to them. The young film-makers have been connected with the experts from Digital Storytellers who have taught them progressive film-making techniques and mentored them in their creative journey. I have seen the confidence of the young film-makers grow apace with the development of their technical abilities.
The team from Digital Storytellers have been ideal mentors; they’ve provided technically savvy and artistic advice while ensuring the young film makers made the films that were important to them. Digital Storytellers have been a well organised team who have placed a strong emphasis on collaboration through deep listening and respect. It has been a pleasure to be involved in the program and the standard of the finished films is testimony to the quality of the project.
Resourcing the Project
As a social enterprise and non-profit organisation, we recognise that storytelling is a big investment for you; and that you'll be placing your trust in us. Rest assured that we don't take that lightly.
Training investment options
This is a guideline on estimated investment for our our most popular workshop and program formats. Reach out to us for a more tailored quote or customised delivery format .
Face-to-face training options
Description | Item | Quantity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
3-Hour Face to Face Introductory Workshop Overview: A practical rapid-fire workshop to give your team or community an overview of the best practices for brainstorm, filming, editing and sharing impactful stories. Participants will leave inspired by what's possible and with basic tools and skills to get started. Deliverables • 1 x 3 hour workshop • 2 x facilitators from Digital Storytellers • Slides shared with participants • Up to 30 participants *Excludes travel costs | $2,750.00 | ||
1-Day Face to Face Workshop Overview A one-day hands-on workshop where you'll have the option to focus on a shorter practical introduction to two or three modules (FIND/MAKE MAKE/EDIT). Deliverables • 1 x full-day workshop • 2 x facilitators from Digital Storytellers • Slides shared with participants • Up to 20 participants *Excludes travel costs | $3,800.00 | ||
2-Day Face to Face Workshop Overview A two-day hands-on workshop to train your community in the process of finding, capturing, editing and sharing video stories using smartphones and affordable equipment, delivered over consecutive days or up to two weeks apart. Participants will be encouraged to create a video, from start to finish, during these workshops. Deliverables • 2 x full-day workshop • 2 x facilitators from Digital Storytellers • Slides shared with participants • Up to 16 participants *Excludes travel costs | $6,500.00 | ||
Tailored proposals If you're interested in having a smaller group, longer engagement or more bespoke face-to-face training program, reach out to us at [email protected] |
Online Training options
Description | Item | Quantity | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
6-Week Online Storytelling Program Overview Our fully-tailored, private Online Storytelling Program is designed to specifically meet your community’s storytelling needs by guiding them through a facilitated 6-week story-creation and skills-building process. Participants will navigate through the course with accountability, receive individual support and create a story from start to finish. At the end of the program they will have a polished story, ready to share with the public Deliverables • 6 x weekly webinars to guide participants through their storytelling journey, including clarification of weekly tasks, Q&A, troubleshooting, sharing participant insights and group feedback • Access to a private online learning portal with tailored content, including video examples and storytelling frameworks appropriate for your community/team • Submission of weekly tasks, with support and feedback from facilitators • Up to 14 'stories' (participants may work in groups) • 1:1 consultation also available (with additional scope) Case studies: - Merri-Bek Council Sustainability Storytellers - SENVIC - Voices of Victoria Leading Through Lockdown - Great Barrier Reef Foundation - Citizen Science Storytellers | $16,100.00 | ||
Online Skills Building Workshops - Series of 4 Overview This series of practical and participatory workshops will introduce participants to the process of finding, capturing, editing and sharing impact stories. Workshops will focus on providing ‘how-to’ guidance, connecting participants, sharing learnings with each other and deep-dive Q&As While creating a completed story is encouraged, it is not compulsory. Participants will be encouraged to share and ask for feedback during workshops, but will not receive feedback from Digital Storytellers outside of workshops. Deliverables • A series of 4 webinars (60 minutes each) to take participants through the process of how to FIND, MAKE, EDIT & SHARE stories. • Slides and webinar recordings shared with participants for ongoing access • Up to 20 participants • Access to Stories for Impact Online Course | $5,500.00 | ||
Introductory Online Storytelling Workshop Overview: A practical rapid-fire workshop to give your team or community an overview of the best practices for brainstorm, filming, editing and sharing impactful stories. Participants will leave inspired by what's possible and with basic tools and skills to get started.
• 1 x 2 hour online workshop • Up to 30 participants • Slides and webinar recording shared with participants | $1,250.00 | ||
Tailored proposals If you're interested in having a smaller group, longer engagement or more bespoke online training program, reach out to us at [email protected] u |
Our Team
We love our team!
Our creative team has been organically sourced from the best changemaking communities in Sydney. For eight years we've been making content that drives positive impact and we've staked our business and identity on this purpose.
Why does this mean to you? You'll benefit from working with a trusted collective people who are experts in their own fields and passionate changemakers in their own right.
We believe that because of our expertise, teamwork and creativity, you'll receive a higher quality result for your project than any one individual can achieve alone. As a business we work hard to ensure we have a positive and evolving culture, and we believe that shines through in the passion and dedication we bring to our projects.
Learn more about the backgrounds of our team and the communities we play in at our website.
Our Working Agreements
Before we get started..
.. let's discuss some working agreements.
The best relationships start on the right foot with clear agreements for working together. Therefore, please take the time to look over and acknowledge our Terms and Conditions by opening up the click box below.
By accepting these terms, we safely agree to the boundaries by which we can work together, thus providing clarity for our working relationship. This gives you transparency as to our commitment to your work, and helps us deliver your project on time and on budget.
Should you have any questions about these terms, please feel absolutely free to let us know and we will discuss accordingly.
Terms and Conditions
AGREEMENT
- This agreement between undersigned Digital Storytellers (hereafter “DS”) and the undersigned client (hereafter “Client”), governs the assignment described in this proposal, and along with these Terms and Conditions, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning that assignment.
FEES & SCOPE
- The fees charged by DS are exclusively for the scope agreed upon in the proposal and invoices prepared by DS for the Client.
- Any subsequent scope changes to the job description made after both parties have signed this agreement, including additional requests for workshops and support time, will result in extra charges if more work by DS is required.
- Quotations and proposals are valid for three months from published date.
PAYMENT TERMS (Workshop)
- The client shall make payments at the agreed milestones for the project as per the following schedule:
- First 60% - Commissioning Invoice: Upon commissioning of the job.
- Final 40% - Completion Invoice: Upon delivery of the final workshops or deliverables.
- Payments are due within 14 days of invoice date. Any delay in payment over 30 days from invoice date will accrue additional fees of 10% of the outstanding balance per week of delay, unless otherwise acknowledged in writing by the Directors or Senior Management Team of DS.
- Projects shall not begin until the commissioning payment is received by DS, unless confirmed in writing by the Directors of DS. Approval for project start can be issued upon confirmation of an expected payment date on the Commissioning Invoice from the Client.
- Projects under $10,000 excluding GST are fully payable upon commissioning of the work.
CANCELLATIONS
- In the event of the cancellation of a workshop by the Client or subject with less than exactly two weeks' notice, Client shall pay all related expenses incurred by DS up to the time of cancellation, including travel costs and facilitators' day rates.
CLIENT REPRESENTATION
- The Client is responsible for the presence of an authorised representative at all workshop days to approve DS’ interpretation of the assignment.
- If a Client representative is not present, the DS interpretation shall be deemed acceptable based on the proposal received by the client accompanying this document.
INDEMNIFICATION
- Client hereby indemnifies and holds DS harmless against any and all liabilities, claims and expenses, including legal fees, arising from Client’s use of DS’ work.
COPYRIGHT
- DS retains a non-exclusive license to use the produced materials for promotional usage only.