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| Scenes from Tbilisi: Taking part in Local Stories, Global Change, The Voices and Faces Project's newest narrative advocacy workshop series. |
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Our stories are our power.
The Voices and Faces Project and UN Women are using them to create change.
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The Voices and Faces Project just returned from Tbilisi, Georgia, where we partnered with UN Women to pilot our newest narrative advocacy workshop series, Local Storytelling, Global Change: Using Narrative in the Fight for Gender Justice. Created for, and in dialogue with, the UN Women Georgia country office, Local Storytelling, Global Change was made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and IREX.
During this all-new, four-part workshop series, The Voices and Faces Project brought together a community of Tbilisi-based activists, allies, artists, and gender-based violence survivors seeking to think in new ways about the purpose and ethics of storytelling … explore how language can break through ideological barriers during times of high political conflict … consider how survivor storytelling can contribute to post-traumatic growth … and reflect on how to share our personal stories in ways that can lead to political change.
Perhaps Teona Japoshvili, the UN Women Project Analyst who played a critical role in bringing our newest Voices and Faces Project training to her region, says it best:
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❝ When I first attended a Voices and Faces Project workshop in the US, I was overwhelmed by emotions I had never never experienced during a professional training. The room was filled with profound reflections on story — and the occasional tears. It left an impact, which is why I wanted to bring this program to my country. Initially I worried that the stigma in Georgia surrounding gender-based violence would make it difficult for participants to open up. But workshop facilitator Anne K. Ream created an inclusive environment rich in trust, empathy, and inspiration, encouraging participants to engage deeply and courageously. The post-program feedback we received underscored the power of a program dedicated to creating spaces where advocates, witnesses, and survivors can process their traumas, find strength in their voices, and lead others toward the healing that comes when we use story to create social change."
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A huge thanks to the inspired and inspiring UN Women and Voices and Faces Project team members who made our pilot program a success. But most of all, thanks to the bold, brave, and boundary-pushing leaders who took part in our workshop series in Tbilisi. We love watching you change the world!
To bring Local Storytelling, Global Change to your community or NGO, email abravo@voicesandfaces.org.
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The Stories We Tell takes Chicago: We cannot wait to be in community with our newest testimonial writing workshop cohort! |
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| A Stories We Tell writing workshop in Toronto, Canada. |
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On November 16 - 17, our newest Stories We Tell cohort — an extraordinary community of survivors, artists, activists, content creators, and writers — will come together at Simmons Center for Global Chicago for The Voices and Faces Project's signature, two-day testimonial writing workshop for survivors of, and witnesses to, gender-based violence.
Facilitated by Voices and Faces Project founder Anne K. Ream, the author of Lived Through This, a memoir of her multi-country journey spent listening to survivors; and led by novelist R. Clifton Spargo, a lecturer in creative writing at Yale University and alumnae of the acclaimed Iowa Writers Workshop. The Stories We Tell isn't just training writers. It's creating a global community.
Congratulations to our newest cohort. See you in November! And a special thanks to Brabson Family Foundation for making this workshop possible. We appreciate you!
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
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THE STORIES WE TELL:
A testimonial writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence
November 16 – 17, 2024
Simmons Center for Global Chicago
CHICAGO, IL
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THE STORIES WE TELL:
A testimonial writing workshop for survivors of gender-based violence
Winter 2025
University of California — Riverside
RIVERSIDE, CA
Presented in partnership with Brabson Family Foundation
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BREAKING FREE:
A testimonial writing workshop for survivors of religious trauma
Winter 2025
Location TBA
Presented in partnership with Break Free Together
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BEARING WITNESS:
A contemporary art exhibition & auction benefiting The Voices and Faces Project/Center for Story and Witness
Spring/Summer 2025
CHICAGO, IL
Curated by Randy Rosenberg; presented in partnership with Art Works for Change
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Our stories are our power.
At The Voices and Faces Project we’re using them to create change. |
Our mission at The Voices and Faces Project (which will soon be rebranded and expanded as Center for Story & Witness) is to cultivate and share stories that bear witness to gender-based violence and other human rights injustices in order to challenge and change minds, hearts, and public policies. Through our narrative advocacy trainings, performances, publications, and testimonial writing workshops, we're supporting a new generation of witnesses, writers, artists, and activists to use their stories to create social change. We are a registered 501c3 organization and have been named one of America's Best Charities by the board of Independent Charities of America.
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© 2024 The Voices and Faces Project
All rights reserved
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