Training RefUgEes and migrants on STOrytelling and medIa content creation for new representationS

<< Background >>True Stories is a podcast and a media training project born from the belief that those who experience migration should be able to tell their own stories. Too often, their voices are filtered, summarized, or even silenced.True Stories builds on the spirit of the Clichés podcast, initiated by the French Red Cross and Louie Media in 2020: to share personal, sincere stories, far from stereotypes and to take it further by bringing the podcast to a European level.Our goal here was also to co-develop, with Louie Media, OCC Spain, and OCC Greece, a training program focused on podcasting and storytelling techniques. Through this educational approach in small groups, participants were able to take ownership of the tools, share their experiences, and transform them into powerful and moving content.By coordinating the project, we also aimed to lay the foundations for a replicable framework, so that other organisations across Europe can amplify these important and often unheard voices.<< Objectives >>With True Stories, we had a clear objective: to enable migrants and refugees to become the narrators of their own stories. Too often, these stories are told for them, distorted, simplified, or sidelined. We aimed to reverse this dynamic by giving them the opportunity to take control of their own narrative, providing the tools needed to express themselves with accuracy, nuance, and strength.By training them in podcast techniques and digital storytelling, we wanted to empower them to reclaim their stories. Building on the Clichés podcast, we aimed to create a new multilingual season, a European media campaign, and practical tools to spread this approach.Above all, what we sought was to open a space for expression and recognition — a space where everyone can be heard for what they have to say, beyond clichés, to shift perceptions of migration by highlighting the richness and diversity of their journeys.<< Implementation >>As the French Red Cross and project coordinator, we led the project by organizing a kick-off meeting in Barcelona (June) and a mid-term meeting in Paris (December), along with biweekly coordination meetings. We ensured smooth consortium coordination, implementation of the three key activities, and continuous promotion of the content.Together with Louie Media and the OCC teams in Spain and Greece, we supported the editorial production of season 5 of the Clichés podcast, contributed to the selection of interviewees, and helped with video translations under the supervision of Louie Media, an expert in media content (activity 1).Each partner organized podcast training sessions in Paris, Barcelona, and Polykastro for migrants and refugees. These workshops introduced participants to storytelling, audio/video recording, and co-creation of their narratives. They resulted in the creation of a media guide and the development of a methodological framework (activity 2), coordinated by the French Red Cross.Finally, we contributed to the #TrueStories campaign (activity 3), led by OCC Spain, with a highlight event held at Les Amarres in Paris on December 12, 2024.<< Results >>True Stories enabled the training of 15 migrants and refugees across three countries (France, Spain, Greece) through hands-on workshops on storytelling, audio, and video production.These trainings resulted in the production of 6 episodes of the Clichés podcast season 5, each focused on a powerful testimony, as well as multilingual video versions of the podcast (French, Spanish, English, Greek) available on the French Red Cross’s YouTube channel. Overall, the podcast gathered 7,194 listens—twice as many as a branded podcast in the same sector with a similar marketing budget—and accumulated nearly 2,000 views.The release was supported by a #TrueStories campaign on social media, culminating on International Migrants Day in December 2024.A “media guide” was created for migrants and refugees to help them craft their own stories and better communicate their experiences online. The project also established the groundwork for a methodological framework for EU organizations wishing to carry out the same initiative.The project fostered rich peer exchanges, concrete skill-building for participants, and contributed to evolving media narratives on migration in Europe.