Description

True Stories is a one-year Erasmus+ project that brings together the French Red Cross, Louie Media, Open Cultural Center Spain, and Open Cultural Center Greece. It combines the co-creation of the 5th season of the podcast Clichés, featuring the voices of people with lived experiences of migration, with a set of local media training sessions and a multilingual social media campaign (#TrueStories).

The project focuses on the voices of refugees and migrants as producers, not subjects, of the stories that shape public perception.

Context

Refugees and migrants are often spoken about, rather than listened to. Their stories are filtered, reduced to legal or political status, and rarely reflect the complexity and resilience of their lived experiences.

In this context, True Stories was born from a need to rebalance the public narrative: to equip migrant and refugee individuals with storytelling skills and media literacy so they can take ownership of their image and contribute to shifting public perception – locally and across Europe.

Technical details & Operations

True Stories unfolded across three key activities:

  1. Podcast co-creation (led by Louie Media)

    • 6 audio episodes recorded with participants from France, Spain, and Greece.

    • 6 video versions with subtitles in French, English, Spanish, and Greek.

    • 1 “making-of” episode, highlighting the behind-the-scenes process and the experience of the participants.

  2. Media training (led by French Red Cross)

    • 3 local training sessions (Polykastro, Paris, Barcelona) designed for 15 participants.

    • Each session followed a participatory methodology including:

      • Media literacy (tone, script, ethics).

      • Audio & video techniques (sound, framing, light, use of smartphone and basic equipment).

      • Practice-led learning: participants tested microphones, recorded short pieces, and rehearsed interviews.

      • Reverse pedagogy: journalists learned from participants about what questions to avoid and how to build trust.

    • A certificate of participation was issued.

    • A Media Guide was created to help other migrant-led collectives share their stories online.

    • A Trainer Framework was developed to help NGOs replicate the training (including guidance on structure, language support, ethics, and co-learning).

  3. #TrueStories social media campaign (led by OCC Spain)

    • Diffusion across TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Spotify.

    • Involvement of social media ambassadors.

    • A press conference was held in Paris on International Migrants Day (December 18, 2024).

    • Communication content included visuals and multilingual subtitles co-created with an illustrator from a migrant background.

Deployment & Impact

Despite budget and translation constraints, True Stories reached broad audiences and empowered participants:

  • +7000 people listened to True Stories, the 5th season of Clichés, across platforms.

  • 15 refugees and migrants trained in 3 countries.

  • Increased confidence, media literacy, and storytelling skills among participants.

  • High-quality media outputs shared in four languages, adapted for podcast platforms and social media.

  • Two key open-source resources shared via Red Social Innovation:
    → the Media Guide for individuals,
    → The Trainer Framework for institutions and NGOs.