Two successful workshops in Hamilton this year……the fruits of which (!) will appear on the Ethnic Communication website being developed.

Watch this space.

It’s heart warming to hear the stories and to see the different ‘take’ we all have on life. Digital storytelling is a fantastic way to illuminate the horrors of racism and alienation, yet do it with humour, and tell the stories of our journeys here, our successes and triumphs and our love for this place. Good stuff.

The interest shown in Frank’s story shows museums the power of the internet to share stories with new audiences. Audiences who, as Cheryl says, needn’t remain passive, but instead:

…are invited to respond to a video/movie by making a comment or with another video/movie. This dialogic process enables a new truth to be formed, and creates a new perspective that helps us cross bridges.

This is all the more relevant in light of figures showing that virtual museum attendance has tipped with “…more virtual visitors than those who walked in through the door.” (via the New Literacies, New Audiences blog).

Frank’s story has attracted its fair share of comment since we posted it to YouTube, much of which has been from Turks who are now unable to remark; we saw no evidence of jingoism, quite the opposite in fact. Let’s hope this censorship is only temporary and our Turkish friends will once again be able to leave their thoughts with us.

Update: It’s unclear whether the Turkish government has revoked its ban, but it certainly hasn’t discouraged comment from all Turks. Eleven hours ago Turkish YouTuber Tomie1974 managed to evade the block and posted his own version of Atatürk’s famous axiom.