DIY Digifolk toolkit

DigiFolk collects and digitises folktales, stories of wisdom, from ethnic, religious and racial groups residing in cities and makes them easily accessible and freely available to everyone. By collecting, curating, digitising and sharing the cultural products of these communities DigiFolk gives voice to communities which hold minority status in European societies.

Watch these two videos to get a taste of the project before continuing. The first video will introduce you to the goals of the project and the second to the key terms (folktales and marginalised communities).

Intro to the goals of the project

Explanation of key terms

Storylab

Step 1: Setting up a StoryLab

The first thing you will need to do is setting up a StoryLab to start collecting stories. The StoryLab revolves around the DigiFolk methodology which is based on ethnographic and participatory methods. StoryLab members are trained in the project’s methodology to go into the field to collect folktales from marginalised communities. There are several materials available to help you do this. The Literature Review gives StoryLab members a better understanding of the background, concepts and theories used by DigiFolk, such as: what are marginalised communities and how stories can be used to enhance intergroup relations. It is therefore advised to read this first. The video outlines the building blocks of the training on DigiFolk’s methodology; you can watch it to get an idea of what the training involves. You can then move on to consulting the document ‘Ethnographic Methods’, which is a hands-on training to train members in the ethnographic methodology to be able to enter communities and collect the stories.

Available materials:

Literature Review

Ethnographic methods Guide

Video outlining the building blocks of the training:

Step 2: Doing your field research

The next step is to identify the marginalised or less visible communities inhabiting your city that will be the focus of your project. Find ways to gain access to these communities by using gate openers (see ‘Ethnographic Methods’, step 1) and interview community members about folktales. You can use our Interview Guide and Informed Consent documents for this step.

Available materials:

Interview Guide

Informed Consent

Step 3: Curate and digitise the stories

Once you have collected your stories, you can start reviewing the raw material and select folktales to curate. There are different ways to do this, such as using animation, illustration, making a documentary, or using audio only. The stories will be digitised as online videos. You can do this in a participatory manner by consulting the participants on their wishes and asking them for feedback. A tip: the better the quality of your interview material (audio + sound) the more you will have to work with during curation. For this, check out the recording instructions listed under available materials below.

Available materials:

Digitization guidelines

Video of Curation guidelines:

Step 4: Disseminate the folktales

The last step is sharing the curated folktales with the wider public. Ideally, the participants identify a spot in the city where they want their story to be shared. You design a city tour which allows for the audience to visit different geographical locations in the city where they can listen to or view the digitised stories. The app ActionBound can be a useful source for the physical city tours.

Available materials:

Actionbound instructions

Video Recording of Ankara bound

Video Recording of Belgrade bound

Video Recording of Groningen bound

Video Recording of Nicosia bound

And finally, to get a taste of Digifolk’s process from beginning to end you can watch the mini-documentaries from the four cities:

Mini documentaries

Evropska komisija podržala je kreiranje ove internet stranice, ali nije odgovorna za njen sadržaj, koji izražava isključivo stavove autora. Komisija nije odgovorna za korišćenje informacija prezentovanih na internet stranici.

Avrupa Komisyonu'nun bu web sitesinin hazırlanmasına verdiği destek, sadece yazarların görüşlerini yansıtan içeriklerin onaylandığı anlamına gelmez ve Komisyon burada yer alan bilgilerin herhangi bir şekilde kullanılmasından sorumlu tutulamaz.

The European Commission’s support for the production of this website does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Η υποστήριξη της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για την παραγωγή του παρόντος δικτυακού τόπου δεν συνιστά έγκριση του περιεχομένου, το οποίο αντανακλά τις απόψεις μόνο των συντακτών, και η Επιτροπή δεν μπορεί να θεωρηθεί υπεύθυνη για οποιαδήποτε χρήση των πληροφοριών που περιέχονται σε αυτόν. De steun van de Europese Commissie voor de productie van deze publicatie houdt geen goedkeuring van de inhoud in die alleen de mening van de auteurs weerspiegelt, en de Commissie kan niet verantwoordelijk worden gehouden voor enig gebruik dat van de informatie in deze publicatie wordt gemaakt.
Project Number: 2022-1-NL01-KA220-HED-000090175