An activity by 
Why
We want to pave the way for a more creative environment in a small town in Sweden, that shares it´s situation with many small towns in Sweden
We want to give accessibility to tools for taking control of the stories that are told about refugees to the refugees.
Many of the established inhabitants of our town have a very one-dimensional image of refugees, an image created by media, prejudice and lack of knowledge. By providing refugees with tools to tell their own stories we want to provide more knowledge and understanding amongst all habitants of Åmål.
Location
Åmål, Sverige/12.69773239999995,59.05111699999999,4/1000x300.png)
Characteristics
Area
Åmål is a small town in Sweden where a large number of refugees have been assigned homes by the Swedish migration authorities, this town is now going through a change, from being a place where inhabitants left – it´s now a place where it´s hard to find an apartment and where new shops and small businesses are established. Both the immigrant’s situation in Åmål and the uprising xenophobia and racism in Sweden are issues that needs addressing, we believe that he creating of common experiences and activities is an important part of a better coexistence and our way has been by the making and creating through crafts and art.
Don´t stop motion is a way to spread the stories of individuals to prevent the refugees becoming a "faceless crowd".
Audience
The target group of this project was a differentiated crowd of people, different backgrounds, class and gender.
We wanted to include asylum seekers and newlyarrived refugees in the Åmål life, and put established Åmål habitants in touch with the newcomers.
How the audience/participants were reached or discovered
We partnered up with local associations working with education for asylumseekers in Åmål. The municipality and with some refugees specially interested in video and filmmaking. An important contact was the Yasmine Sham Åmål association of Syrian refugees in Åmål.
How it was done
How
Film
We worked with stop motion technique with paper cuts and easy to access materials. We used ipads and android units with free or not expensive software to work with the whole process in one and the same device.
Sound
We used free software to make soundtracks and voice over tracks.
Workshops
The workshops took place in Vuxenskolan – one of the educational associations in town let us use their space.
We participated in language café session where we introduced the idea and made short films with the ones present. We met our good friend and co-worker Mohammad Awwad Alenezi, who had an interest in moviemaking.
Results
How it went
Main lessons learned
Using good easy to get equipment is key. Lights and easy to use software. We made some DIY tripod attachments for ipads.
Keep the film simple, together they make a bigger picture.
Go to where people gather anyways, and keep it low key.
A fun way to spend time with peolple that you don´t share a language with.
Credits
Creative Europe
Åmål Municipality
Mohammad Awwad Alenezi
Region of West Sweden
Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan
Activity Timeline
2016
-
workshops
The workshops took place in Vuxenskolan – one of the educational associations in town let us use their space.
We participated in language café session where we introduced the idea and made short films with the ones present. We met our good friend and co-worker Mohammad Awwad Alenezi, who had an interest in moviemaking.