Recapping the 2023 Youth Storytellers with a Festival: Field to Film
In 2021, we launched an innovative program called Youth Storytellers in Burkina Faso and Honduras. Our goal was to create a people-centered, agroecological counter-narrative opportunity for young storytellers to capture the experiences and daily lives of smallholder farmers. In 2023, thanks to generous support from funders and donors, we were able to expand the program to include more youth from more countries.
The 2023 Field to Film festival included Burkina Faso, Honduras, Ecuador, Nepal, Haiti, Guatemala, and Senegal.
Through the Youth Storytellers Program, Groundswell International and our partners in seven countries are:
- supporting rural young people to become powerful communicators for social change
- creating a people-centered, agroecological counternarrative opportunity for young people
- empowering young people to capture the experiences and daily lives of smallholder farmers in their communities
New Stories, New Voices
In this year’s films, we heard incredible stories such as those from youth in Burkina Faso on how agroecology is a tool to enhance women’s statuses; how farmers in Guatemala are rescuing and conserving native and creole seeds; why micro-enterprises and model gardens are crucial to women’s leadership in Haiti; the ways in which agroecology plots guarantee the consumption of healthy food and access to food in Honduras; and how Nepal is developing women’s groups.
Partners on the Ground
Our global network of local organizations has been instrumental in helping to recruit, train, and support the talented youth that have documented the stories of family farmers in their communities. The sustainable strategies that these smallholder farmers have learned and implemented can feed the growing population of the world. The use of agroecological techniques has vastly improved the resilience of families around the globe.
Support the Youth from 2023 and Beyond
Watch their video stories of farmers and communities creating and spreading healthy farming and food systems from the ground up.
Share the videos with your friends and families to spread the word about young people who are changing realities and narratives.
Donate now to support the next generation of storytellers.