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Finding the Right Storyline:

Creative Sexual Health Awareness and

Behaviour Change Through a Collaborative

Youth Platform

John Murray, YAHAnet.org

Sixth Annual Conference on Youth + Tech + Health

April 7,8 & 9, 2013

San Francisco, CA

What does it take to tell stories

online?

Let’s explore the digital relationship…

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Who will make the first move?

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Who’s listening or watching?

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What will they like?

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What’s your (story) size?

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Youth, the Arts, HIV & AIDS Network

• Online global social network based at McGill

• Over 20 how-to guides

• Free membership gives access to sharing of stories in Forum, Galleries, or Working Groups

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Digital storytelling as YAHAnet

has lived it

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Creating, sharing, & promoting

stories • More than 235 members/30 orgs but low

level of new content and discussion

• Stories & artwork found on social media & posted by YAHAnet interns are shared

• Key realization: validation = response

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An educational hierarchy

• Resource centre vs. DIY storytelling forum

• Weekly/monthly strategies to address

– Using Twitter to get and stay personal

– Informal blogs by interns = realistic peer guidance

– Global usage stats

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From DIY to DIT

• Simple branded video for AIDS 2010

• Continued with team stop-motion video, sample podcasts and webisodes, infographics, condom mosaics, and memes

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Discussion through competition

• 2008 art contest • 2009 collective art contest • 2010 T-shirt contest

• 2011 student podcast contest

• 2012 webisode & storyboard contest

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More SASS!

• Implementing new web features that are quick, interactive, and regularly updated

– Monthly featured tool

– First Social Media AIDS Awareness Week in Dec. 2012

– Pinterest and memes

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Offline vs. online storytelling

• Condom installations

• Collage-making

• “Wall of Hands”

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• “Making the invisible visible” – Evgenia Maron, Astra Foundation, Russia

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Changing the political story

• Wall of Hands for community elders/gov’t officials and regional analysis

• YAHAnet research arm

• Crowdsourcing stories and branding

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Keeping the online story fresh

by breaking it down

• Visualizing in new free ways

– AndreaMosaic, Popplet, HTML5 puzzles, Tagul, Image Map tools

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Come create your story at

www.yahanet.org!

info@yahanet.org

yahacoordinator@gmail.com