This "co-archiving" project was part of the course "Collaborative Media" in Malmö university. The goal of the project was to explore collaborative archiving practices that help representing the voice of the ones being archived, in our specific case that being the refugees in Sweden. And doing so via participatory and co-design methods.
The team consisted of 5 students and all work on the project was done in collaboration.
Recruitment phase - presenting the project and distributing flyers in different locations
such as Mötesplats Otto, språkcafes and via the oragnisation Rådrum
such as Mötesplats Otto, språkcafes and via the oragnisation Rådrum
We managed to recruit 10 participants who have come to Sweden as refugees out of which 7 came to the second workshop and 5 to the third. We wanted to work with the same participants due to building upon the project knowledge and the trust gained. All participants were very devoted to the workshop activities and many of them regretted not being able to attend all 3 workshops
Planning and preparing for workshop 1
The roles we have distributed to the team members for each workshop were:
- 1 fascilitator
- 2 co-designers doing all workshop activities as participants - both for setting an example what the activity is about and for creating a feeling of equality
- 2 observers - one taking notes and one taking pictures
For each workshop we rotated those roles between the team members.
Workshop 1
Workshop 1 was held in the public library Garaget. 10 participants came. I was a co-designer in this workshop.
W1, activity 1: Warm-up game - Tell "2 truths and 1 lie" about yourself > others guess what was the lie.
Aim: getting to know each other and setting an open friendly atmosphere
Aim: getting to know each other and setting an open friendly atmosphere
W1, activity 2: Sticky note on the back "Tell me a story about..."
Aim: Introducing the topic of storytelling, finding out what stories people find interesting to hear on one hand
Aim: Introducing the topic of storytelling, finding out what stories people find interesting to hear on one hand
and what personal stories they would choose to tell on the other
W1, activity 3: If you had "5 min on TV" what story would you tell (in groups)
Aim: Hear their shared identity stories
Designing each workshop's activities was based on the insights from the previous workshop and themes we'd like to explore for the project.
Workshop 2
Workshop 2 was held in Malmö university. 7 participants came. I was the fascilitator of this workshop.
W2, activity 1: "Our story - my story" - Participants taking turns editing I-statements to match them personally
Aim: as continuum of workshop 1 to explore further the differences between the shared and the individual story
Aim: as continuum of workshop 1 to explore further the differences between the shared and the individual story
W2, activity 2: "Postbox letters" - post a letter to an abstract receiver as "my past self", "my Mom", "Sweden", etc
to the archive postbox. Attach a picture to it and choose how much to hide or show of your face
Aim: Introducing the concept of the archive through the postbox.
Explore anonymity needs and how having a personal receiver might change the content of the input.
W2, activity 3: "My Malmö", part 1 - draw a map of what Malmö is for you
Aim: Exploring what their life is like here and now
W2, activity 4: "My Malmö", part 2 - pin on the map of Malmö places that are "yours", "important", "interesting", etc
Aim: Exploring how stories can map to the physical space of the city
After the second workshop we ideated on different ideas for co-archiving practices and developed 2 concepts to be tested and re-designed together with our participants in the third workshop.
Workshop 3
Workshop 3 was held in Malmö university. 5 participants came. I was an observer in this workshop.
W3, activity 1: Find the stories we have left on the map in the area > a walk around the university
Aim: Testing the prototype of the map storytelling concept we've developed
W3, activity 2: Presenting the idea of the map concept they've just tested and having a discussion on it
Aim: Getting their thoughts and ideas about the concept for developing it further with their feedback
W3, activity 3: Presenting our other concept of storytelling through "a carrier" and enacting it together in groups
Aim: Trying out the concept and seeing how it feels
W3, activity 4: "The carriers" retelling the story as part of the concept enactment, followed by a discussion
Aim: Getting their thoughts and ideas about the concept for developing it further according to their input
The project ended with us developing 3 concepts for co-archiving practices that were based on all the insights from our workshops and the feedback and ideas of our participants.
This participatory design approach proved to be very helpful for the design process. The participants gave their best to all workshop activites, sometimes even going beyond our expectations and we've managed to easily build frienship relationship with them.
