The Market Photo Workshop, with support from OXFAM South Africa, embarked on the first phase of the Stories for Change Project, which sought to empower storytellers in Southern Africa. In understanding the systemic nature of injustice, this project intended to shine a lens on issues of inequity by training 6 participants from across the region. Through hands-on job experience, combined with technical and theoretical support to draw attention to the role photography, audio, video, sound and text plays in setting social justice agendas in Southern Africa. The Stories for Change project sought to promote and introduce new story tellers that speak to social responsibility, activism and ethical investigation by African storytellers.

The Oxfam Participatory Project activities were developed around skills development, vocational training and empowering strategies to encourage a greater participation which will ensure that the participating storytellers will be able to critically engage with pertinent social issues through photography, audio, video, sound and text.

The Stories for Change Project objective was to train the participants to use photography, audio, video, sound and text as a way of documenting, critically engaging with and sharing common issues, encompassing the daily experiences of the participants own communities across the region. The project aimed to contribute to the increasing number of the region’s storytellers who have the necessary skills to promote and encourage photography, audio, video, sound and text with emphasis on under resourced and minority community groups enabling these communities the opportunity to tell their own stories and highlight issues that have relevance to their lived experiences.

The Stories for Change Project has enabled access and exposure to storytelling practices as well as to expand the participants industry networks. The participants were assisted to become activists who are knowledgeable about community issues and are sensitive to their own community conditions. Strategic focus themes included socio-economic living and working conditions, particularly the factors of vulnerability, such as gender inequality, poor living and working conditions, separation from families, exploitation and discrimination, youth development and community infrastructure.

The milestones of the project are (1) that the participants gained real life experience of working in a varied photography projects at the Market Photo Workshop; (2) that the participants have also learnt independence and self-directed learning in producing bodies of work, and (3) that the partcipants have been exposed to relevant and critical aspects of the media and photography industry in South Africa.

In addition, the participants also have had an opportunity to share their work, and engage in dialogue with other artists and social activists. These interactions have challenged the participants to create storytelling works with a social impact.  The project has also taught them that they also operate as a business while maintaining their creativity and social responsibility.

Finally the project has provided the 6 participants with practical experience and exposure to relevant and critical aspects of the storytelling in South Africa and introduced them to professional skills and critical 21^st century skills of Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, Self-expression and Problem-solving.