One of the main challenges was getting young people from different cultural and social backgrounds (one of the target groups was disadvantaged youth under 30) to work together in creating collective stories related to SDGs. There is always some reluctance in sharing emotions. Fortunately, we were able to spend time together, which helped break down barriers and find a common language. Storytelling enabled the young people to connect, open up to one another, thanks to a shared goal. Everyone contributed their own skills to the digital creation of the stories, and a strong sense of harmony developed among the group.The opportunity to experience an international project opened many doors for these young people. Each of them was also involved in organizing local events. Giving them responsibilities and empowering them by strengthening their skills was a way to make them proud of themselves and aware of their role in the world,

enabling them to express their ideas. Here you can see all the stories created during the project.

https://storycenter.info/en/

The goal? To understand how these women interpret their gender identities through their life experiences. To do this, we interviewed nine participants using snowball sampling, and grouped them by age (18-34 and 35-64) to explore any patterns or differences in their digital stories.

The analysis followed a narrative inquiry approach, allowing us to dig deep into the stories. What emerged were different themes that connected gender identity with public spaces and social roles. Interestingly, we found that gender could either act as a barrier or serve as a source of empowerment, depending on the stage of life. The older participants’ stories reflected the weight of traditional gender roles, while the younger women highlighted the pervasive issue of sexual harassment in their daily lives.

Chara Stefanidi

University of Athens