Digital storytelling to promote disability-inclusive research in Africa

Abstract

Background: Digital stories have been shown to be effective in sharing information. The Partnerships for Inclusive Research and Learning (PIRL) was a 4-year international participatory research project focussed on the digital divide in inclusive research. Objectives: Members of PIRL share their experience of using digital storytelling to get key messages from the project to a wide range of people. Method: Members of PIRL were invited to develop digital stories and create project-specific guidelines for digital story development. Seven people participated in workshops given by experts, read literature, watched digital stories and discussed how to create digital stories. Results: The group created six digital stories, each one addressing a different aspect related to disability-inclusive research, with many having a focus on Africa and the creation of credible African evidence. The importance of assisting community members to think about and support research and evidence creation was one of the goals of the project. The videos provide an avenue to share insights about disability-inclusive development research. Group members stated that being part of the process significantly improved their understanding of translating evidence into formats that are more understandable. Conclusion: Creating digital stories requires commitment, a significant amount of time, access to digital tools, and financial resources. Working collaboratively on this project was not only meaningful but also encouraged positive working relationships and fostered critical thinking. Contribution: This article contributes to a better understanding of ways in which digital storytelling can be used in knowledge-sharing strategies to promote disability inclusion.

Keywords

• digital storytelling
• knowledge translation
• knowledge mobilisation
• knowledge translation in africa
• disability studies
• disability inclusive research
• participatory research
• arts-based research