Over the last several months we’ve shared stories of rural communities and local food systems throughout Central America and West Africa, as documented by the youths in those communities as part of our Youth Storytellers Program.
A joint effort between Groundswell International, our partner organizations, and these ambitious young people, the Youth Storytellers Program has enabled local change-makers to use communication as a catalyst to drive social change and shape the local and global narrative surrounding agroecology, climate issues, and how to ‘feed the world’, as they have written, filmed, and edited these videos and served as an inspiration to other young members of their communities.
Voices From the Field
So far, we’ve shared stories out of Honduras and Burkina Faso, documenting smallholder farmers, women entrepreneurs, and young innovators, including the strategies and techniques critical to their success and the universal elements they share with other farmers around the world. Through these stories, the Youth Storytellers have highlighted the improved resilience achieved by farming with nature instead of against it. They are shining a light on communities regenerating their local economies, fighting food insecurity, and establishing financial independence.
We’ve been inspired as we’ve shared these first few stories with you, but there are still many more stories to share! This is why we’re now beyond excited to be able to enable even more Youth Storytellers from around the globe to make their voices heard and bring you new examples of empowerment, transformation, and triumph as we host our first-ever virtual film festival: Field to Film.
Field to Film: A Youth Storytellers Film Festival
On December 2, 2022, Youth Storytellers from Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Honduras, and Nepal showcased their work capturing community-led and ecological farming solutions, spreading them locally, and changing the narrative globally on how to tackle hunger, poverty, and climate change.
