Documenting Lived Experiences

What does documenting lived experiences mean?

Documenting lived experiences is:

1.     Recording and gathering the voices and memories of people who have personal experiences they wish to share or preserve for future generations. The purposes for documenting lived experiences range from telling and conserving personal stories, testimonies and narratives to encouraging social change and inspiring empathy.  

2.     Adapting and presenting the interview material to suit the purpose and audience of the publication.

How can the recordings be presented to an audience?

The presentation of lived experiences can take many different forms. With a client, I develop ideas on how to communicate, present and share first-hand experiences tailored to suit the primary objective and the desired audience.

Previous work for charities, museums and idividuals included:

Visual Storytelling: a combination of audio, video, text, and images to visually represent and document real-life experiences and perspectives of individuals for storytelling.

Audio Recordings and Oral History Interviews: Conducting recorded interviews with individuals to capture their narratives and perspectives. This can take the form of an audio document or be turned into a video format with added captions, imagery, explanatory context and background information.

Educational Resource: The portrayal of lived experiences used to raise awareness about important issues, such as social injustices, discrimination, or mental health. Personal accounts can provide concrete examples of the impact of policies and can educate policymakers and motivate them to address issues more effectively.