The Community-Engaged Digital Storytelling (CEDST) project is dedicated to advancing non-extractive and non-intrusive community-engaged media production approaches.

At the heart of this initiative is a commitment to collaborative, ethical, and meaningful engagements with communities. The projects adopt digital storytelling methods that are culturally responsive, grounded in respect, and foster community agency.

Our research and production teams uphold these principles as core ethical commitments in community-engaged digital storytelling, adhering to them not only as methodological guidelines but also as fundamental values for community engagements.

– Non-Extractive: Avoiding the extraction and exploitation of stories or participants.

– Non-intrusive: Respecting boundaries, privacy, and cultural sensitivities.

– Community-Engaged: Prioritizing community voices for meaningful engagements.

– Media production: Honoring the creative process and output as co-created narrative labor

Activities range from building community partnerships, collaborating with community partners on storytelling, photography, podcasts, video production, community screenings, and impact assessments, to offering insights into best practices and future directions in digital storytelling. We also engage with specific ethical considerations in areas such as story selection, adapting production techniques to cultural contexts, sound editing, and creating powerful and authentic digital stories, all while avoiding exploitation or misrepresentation.

The lab has developed and follows a guide that outlines principles for non-extractive, community-engaged media production, providing checklists and toolkits for other media producers and researchers doing community-based work. We also offer practical tools for media producers, researchers, and artists. These tools help them co-create authentic and impactful digital stories. Our aim is to support community-led change and uphold principles of equity, representation, and accountability.