Strengthening Skills and Celebrating Storytelling: Highlights from March

March was a month that brought together two essential elements of our work: learning and storytelling. Through focused training and meaningful exchanges, we created space for both professional development and deeper cultural reflection.

A Training Experience Built on Exchange

This March, we successfully implemented our online Training of Trainers programme, bringing together a dedicated group of six participants for an intensive and collaborative learning journey.

The training was not designed as a one-way transfer of knowledge. Instead, it became a space of active participation, where experiences, perspectives, and practices were shared openly. Participants engaged in discussions, reflected on their own work, and explored new ways to approach storytelling as a tool for empowerment.

Beyond strengthening professional skills, the programme also fostered something equally important: a sense of connection and trust among participants. This dynamic allowed for honest dialogue, mutual support, and the exchange of ideas that extend far beyond the training itself.

When Storytelling Becomes Cultural Memory

Alongside the training, we had the privilege of welcoming Sousourades, whose contribution added a unique dimension to the overall experience.

Through their sessions, storytelling was approached not only as a creative practice, but as a form of cultural preservation and transmission. With a focus on fairytales and oral traditions, they highlighted the role of women as carriers of memory, knowledge, and identity across generations.

Their work invited participants to reflect on storytelling in a different way — not simply as a technique, but as a living process that connects personal narratives with collective history. Through dialogue and performance, they opened a space where culture, creativity, and reflection could meet.

The impact of these sessions was immediate. Participants engaged more deeply, reconsidered their own relationship with storytelling, and gained a broader understanding of its potential in both personal and professional contexts.

Looking Ahead: From Learning to Practice

These activities mark an important step in our ongoing journey. They reflect our commitment to creating environments where learning is participatory, and where storytelling can act as a bridge between experience, expression, and empowerment.

As we move forward, the focus shifts from learning to application. The knowledge, tools, and insights developed during this period will now begin to take shape in real contexts, supporting individuals and communities in meaningful ways.

We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this process — for their openness, their curiosity, and their willingness to engage.

More to come as we continue building spaces for learning, connection, and storytelling.