We’re excited to announce that the CEDST Lab 2026 Calendar is officially here, and it’s more than just a calendar. It’s a visual reflection of our core values: collaboration, respect, transparency, and community-centered storytelling. Available now for download, this calendar is designed to inspire, remind, and affirm our shared commitment to non-extractive, culturally responsive digital storytelling practices throughout the year.
Why This Calendar Matters
At the Community-Engaged Digital Storytelling Lab (CEDST), we believe that storytelling is not simply a tool, but a responsibility. The 2026 calendar is not only a practical resource but also a symbolic companion that carries our guiding principles into your workspace, classroom, or community center.
Whether you’re organizing community workshops, planning collaborative media projects, or simply managing your personal time, this calendar serves as a reminder that ethical stories are not captured, but co-created.
For us, each month is a fresh opportunity to reflect on the practices that guide our lab:
Collaboration – Honoring communities as equal partners in storytelling, not subjects or spectators.
Transparency – Fostering open communication and prioritizing agency and voice.
Ownership – Supporting communities in retaining control over their stories, knowledge, and narrative sovereignty.
These values are more than aspirational; they form the foundation of how we approach every project at CEDST Lab.
Designed with Intention
The design of the 2026 calendar highlights these core principles through calming, earth-toned visuals and affirming language. At its center is our mantra:
“Storytelling that prioritizes collaboration, respect, consent, and ethical engagement with communities.”
From January through December, the calendar’s elegant layout provides a monthly view, making it easy to plan your engagements, deadlines, and community milestones.
A Tool for Everyone in Community Media
This calendar is perfect for:
Educators can use it to organize course schedules, project milestones, and community partnership timelines as they integrate community media into their teaching.
Documentary and digital media practitioners can use it to map production schedules, outreach events, and key ethical review checkpoints throughout the year.
Grassroots organizers and community leaders can mark dates for storytelling circles, participatory media sessions, or community feedback gatherings.
Students and scholars can track research timelines, conference submissions, and collaborative fieldwork tied to critical media and decolonial storytelling.
Wherever you find yourself on your storytelling journey, this calendar can help ground your planning in purpose and principle.
The CEDST Lab 2026 Calendar is available as a high-quality digital download. Print it, pin it, or share it. It’s free and open to all who are committed to the values we share.
Let this calendar guide you not just in marking time, but in making space—for stories that are created with, not about, communities