Dallas digital storytelling project. Every Wednesday for the last 6 weeks Mick and I have been tearing down the Western Highway to Dallas, in the northwestern region of Melbourne, to facilitate a digital storytelling project at the Dallas Community House.

The project is funded through the Federal Government’s Images of Age initiative that aims to give older Australians the chance to produce and present positive images of aging.

We have been working with a delightful bunch of elders who have wholeheartedly embraced the digital storytelling form. Most of the group are tech savvy and are really excited by the new skills that they have been learning during our sessions together. One lady in particular has powered ahead, producing 2 wonderful and different stories…she looks likely to become the go to person at the retirement village for multimedia production. Go Lynne!

What is really exciting for me is not only sharing the possibilities of digital storytelling, but the actual stories that have emerged from the group. Transformation, adventure, love, childhood, obsession, remembrance…it’s all there in these 6 simply told stories.

Only a few more Wednesdays to go before we say goodbye to our friends at Dallas. I’m looking forward to celebrating with everyone when we screen the stories during the final session. I think the group will be impressed to see how far they have come from first ideas on paper, to fully realised digital stories.

The stories will also get a public screening at the Global Learning Centre in Broadmeadows during Senior’s Week in October.