FIRM

FIRM (2010-2012)

DigiTales was part of an ESPRC funded consortium called FIRM which included Goldsmiths, the University of Salford, the BBC and Imperial War Museum North. Our work on this academic research project used Digital Storytelling to enable people from local community groups in Salford to use material from the BBC archive to tell a personal story. In collaboration with BBC North Information and Archives, DigiTales used extracts from a wide range of television programmes ranging from iconic media events to everyday programming formats were selected from the regional and network television archives to explore the relationship between media and memory.

From a base at the iconic Salford Lads Club, DigiTales worked with three Salford community organisations: members of Swinton and Pendlebury Local History (the largest of Salford’s many local history groups), Salford Community Media Partnership (SCMP), a network of adult learners and community media trainers and Start in Salford, a centre using creative arts as a means to tackle social exclusion and enhance well-being for those experiencing mental health difficulties. Completed stories were showcased as part of a major consultation hosted by the Imperial War Museum North, contributors to the debate responded positively to the potential of workshop-facilitated story circles to serve as a bridge between different social and professional constituencies.