Are you interested in storytelling through words, visuals, sound or any other medium and have a passion for promoting greater understanding about disability and mental health challenges?
The City is seeking expressions of interest both mentors and participants to take part in MY STORY.
An exciting project which will give people from the Geelong region who have a lived experience of disability or mental health challenges an opportunity to develop their storytelling skills through a 12-week mentorship from Monday 1 June to Wednesday 30 September.
It’s also a chance for writers, artists and storytellers to volunteer an hour or two each fortnight to mentor and share their skills and expertise with others in our community wanting to learn.
MY STORY aims to inspire the greater community to tell their unique story through different creative mediums and will be showcased in early December at the multi-media MY STORY Exhibition Geelong, in celebration of Inclusion Week and International Day of People with Disability 2020.
As part of the MY STORY project, mentors will be matched with small groups of participants and deliver workshops either on-line or in a way that meets the participant’s needs. Workshops will take place for approximately two hours each fortnight over the 12-week period.
To ensure that the project is inclusive and accessible to all, stories can be told through words, paintings, photography, audio visual or any other creative outlets.
Everyone is given the opportunity to ‘tell their story in their own way’.
Expressions of Interest from both mentors and participants are open until Friday 15 May.
Greater Geelong Mayor Stephanie Asher
It’s so important to support people with a lived experience of disability or mental health challenges to express themselves and share their story.
Doing so will promote more understanding of both the joys and challenges experienced by these residents, so I encourage those interested in being involved to get in touch with the City.
Councillor Sarah Mansfield, Chair, Social Inclusion portfolio
This project is accessible to all residents with a lived experience of disability or mental health challenges, who may not usually be represented in the mainstream media. It’s vital these residents are given the opportunity to be seen and heard in our community.
Greater Geelong is home to many talented and creative people, so I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product later this year after hours of mentorship and self-expression.
