workshop 10

Telling our story

overview

This is about the group expressing your collective Be Her Lead journey and capturing any developments, achievements, shifting thoughts and feelings.

This will take longer than one session and this workshop is really about setting up the ideas to take forward as a project into next term / future workshops.

The activities build on Workshop 6, thinking about self-expression, and Workshop 8, looking forwards to the future.

YOU WILL NEED

• Journey-mapping handouts (optional)

check-in

Ask everyone to think about their own story, interpreted however they chose. This could be a story about that day, this week, this term or their entire life so far. Take a moment to think about this, perhaps with eyes closed as a mediation exercise.

Then, ask everyone to ‘tell their story’ using one of the following exercises:

• a squiggle or series of squiggles

• a quick sketch or series of sketches

• 2 or 3 freeze frames or actions

• a face, or series of faces (physical or drawn)

• a favourite song that captures your story

Go round the group and share as much or as little as feels comfortable.

creative activity

Ask the group to think about their story as a Be Her Lead group - from the first workshop up to now – and perhaps beyond.

You could start off by using the handout to map out your individual Be Her Lead journeys, then sharing these to find common threads and patterns.

You could also ask the students to each draw three faces or emojis representing the beginning, middle and current point in their own Be Her Lead journey, then use these to find some common themes and an overall trajectory.

You could split the group up and get break-outs to mind map different stages of the story; highs and lows, breakthroughs, funny moments, etc.

Use all these to come together to draw up a collective timeline on the board, representing one collective story that encompasses your individual experiences.

Next, have a discussion about possible mediums to tell your story, thinking about your own favourite ways to experience stories, as well as what medium would be right for this group. These could include:

• a zine

• a short film, YouTube video or Instagram story

• a presentation or slideshow

• a piece of artwork

• a photo-journal

• a blog, website or space on the school website

• a song or poem

• a drama performance

Show the girls an example of a Be Her Lead zine for inspiration, and reassure them that there is no rush with this project, or pressure to make their story public unless they wish to. The process of telling your story will be part of the ongoing story itself!

discussion prompts

• What is your favourite Be Her Lead memory? Least favourite?

• What was the most important moment for this group, or for you individually?

• What role have you played in this group? What roles have others played?

• How has the group changed? How have you changed? When, why, how?

• What has been the biggest challenge in this group, and how have you overcome it?

check-out

Ask everyone to write in your journals:

• One reason why they might be worried about sharing their story

• One reason why they might be excited about sharing their story

This could be interpreted however they wish – about this project, or about sharing their personal stories in general. Make note of the worries and pay attention to them in planning what happens next with this project.

Further reading / thinking

We believe in offering spaces and platforms for young people to share their stories, as a tool for helping them find meaning and a voice in their experiences, but also because we all have much to learn from listening.