Background: Climate Change and the Power of Narrative
Here at Jo-Jikum, we believe in the power of stories to contribute to the climate movement – especially when those stories come from ourselves.
More journalists, scientists, directors, and researchers continue to visit the Marshall Islands to document our perspectives on climate change – many of these paint us as passive victims drowning. However, our organization supports the 350.org Pacific Climate Warrior’s mantra that “we are not drowning we are fighting.” Our program seeks to put the tools of documentation into the hands of our youth so they can share their story their way. With this in mind, our organization has a special focus on digital storytelling.
Our Solution: A Digital Storytelling Workshop
Thanks to funding from International Organization on Migration and World Bank, Jo-Jikum facilitated a pilot project of our Digital Storytelling Program in April 2019.
The two week program brought together youths aged 17-30 to learn the basics of climate change and the technical skills of digital storytelling. Participants were taught the basics of climate change and its impact on the Marshall Islands, as well as heard from local climate change experts in fields such as marine resources, culture, energy, and women’s issues. Thanks to support from members of 350.org Pacific Climate Warriors, participants also learned the skill set and importance of digital storytelling to the climate movement, and were taught the basics of photography, video, and editing – all while using the cell phones.
The participants who completed this workshop formed the Jo-Jikum Digital Storytelling Collective – a media collective built of representatives from various local organizations and schools with an interest in sharing their perspectives with the world.
Watch: Jo-Jikum Digital Storyteller Collective’s Videos
Below are the uploaded youtube videos that includes 11 videos created by our storytellers – each under about 1 minute long, curated for social media ease of access. These videos were shot and filmed by storyteller’s using the cellphones that were given to participants as a part of their workshop.
