We named Witness Change as a recipient of the Sony Create Action Grant to support their mission to create a more just world by sharing stories that positively impact the lives of marginalized people. As recipients of the Create Action Grant, Witness Change receives $50,000 in cash to continue and expand the organization's work, $50,000 in Sony Electronics products to support their action plan, and this Sony-produced short film telling their story.
The Importance Of Storytelling
“Stories define who we are, and stories dictate how we see ourselves and how we see each other. And how we see each other absolutely impacts how we treat each other,” says Robin Hammon, board president for Witness Change. “It’s kind of crazy that you have a situation where there’s millions and millions of people in the population, where they almost never get the opportunity to contribute to the stories that define who they are.”
“Most stories that are told about refugees come from journalists in the countries where they live, from politicians trying to make a point, but rarely do we actually hear from refugees or have refugees who are the ones behind the camera or doing the interviews,” explains William Lounsbury, project director for Witness Change.
Refugee Project: 1000 Dreams
The only way to counteract this? To change who is doing the storytelling – and that’s why Witness Change was created. The Atlanta-based nonprofit organization uses visual storytelling to support excluded people reclaim their narrative and improve their lives. In 2021 they launched their refugee project, 1000 Dreams. The project trains refugees to become visual storytellers and uses the stories they document to change prevailing harmful refugee narratives. The project had a powerful impact in Europe, and now the winners of the Create Action grant will be able to begin their 1000 Dreams program project in the United States.
“If the stories are wrong, the attitudes and the policies will be wrong,” says Hammon. “And we really believe that this work has the ability to make real differences as to how refugees are seen and heard, and therefore a real difference in their lives.”
Learn more about Witness Change at witnesschange.org.
See more of our past Create Action winners at alphauniverse.com/createaction.
