Building Empathy in Local Communities: The Redwood City 2020 Digital Storytelling Project
By Nicole Prieto
Editor’s Note: On Thursday, September 20, 2018, a local audience came together at Cyclismo Café in downtown Redwood City (in the San Francisco Bay Area) to watch digital stories created by community members, in partnership with StoryCenter. The screening event was put together by storytelling participant and recent Sonoma State graduate Nicole Prieta Macias, with Redwood City Together, a Redwood City 2020 community collaborative initiative. Here, Nicole offers her reflections on the importance of storytelling and story sharing for building human connections and empathy across diverse communities, which is so necessary in these divisive times.
Days before the three-day digital storytelling workshop, I was nervous. It is not easy for me to open up to people I have just met, and I was unsure of what part of myself I wanted to share. However, I was also excited and curious to meet the six other storytellers and find out about their stories.
Luckily, when the workshop started my nervousness faded. Our StoryCenter facilitators, Amy and Ian, were very kind and patient, and helped make all of us feel like experienced storytellers. Having such a comforting setting allowed us to be open when sharing our story ideas as a group and getting feedback. All the storytellers did an amazing job of capturing our community’s values and creating a welcoming environment. They crafted stories about family, identity, the struggles of immigration, and many other topics.
During the workshop, we brainstormed ideas about how to share or showcase our completed digital stories. One suggestion was to screen the stories at downtown Redwood City events. Once again, the prospect of a public screening made me nervous, because I thought I was not ready to share my story with an even larger audience.
On September 20, 2018, the day of the “Our Stories” screening, the nerves turned to excitement. Each digital story sparked heartfelt conversations among audience members, and even caught the attention of cafe goers who were just passing by. The other storytellers who were able to attend, Elihu Moran and Rhobertino Regalado, Jr., and I were excited to share our stories with the community. During the dialogue portion, Elihu mentioned he did not know what he was signing up for when he agreed to attend the three-day workshop, but that he was very happy that he got this opportunity to further connect with people in Redwood City.
Some storytellers, like Maria Guerra from our digital storytelling group, were not able to be present at the screening, but they were there in spirit. Maria passed on a message thanking StoryCenter and Redwood City 2020 for providing her with a way to make a difference in her community. Since English is Maria’s second language, it is not always easy for her to connect with English speakers in Redwood City. Events like the digital storytelling workshop, the Our Stories screening, and other inclusive community programs help Maria know she has an important place in the community.
The Our Stories screening was a great kickoff for Redwood City Together’s series of community dialogues for the coming year. Everyone who participated in the screening was diverse and aligned with Redwood City Together’s purpose of building understanding, empathy, and supportive action across social divides. I am so delighted to have been a part of a group of local storytellers whose stories will continue to be shared as a catalyst for positive community conversations, and I hope our stories inspire others to share their own memories of life in this wonderful community.
Many thanks to the organizations that contributed to this project: Redwood City 2020’s “Redwood City Together,” Cyclismo Café, Redwood City Public Library, and StoryCenter.
View the entire collection of Redwood City 2020 digital stories now.