dareCon! - Envisioning your Future Through Visual Storytelling

ENVISIONING YOUR FUTURE THROUGH VISUAL STORYTELLING

IMPRINT ©Goethe-Institut 2021

COORDINATION IN THE PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES Australia

Eva Baker

PROJECT COORDINATION

Indonesia

Antje Nehls

Eva Baker

Malaysia

Daniela Wolf

Myanmar

Petra Kühl and Dr Suzan Radwan

New Zealand

Judith Geare

Philippines

Jens Rösler

Singapore

Martina Schmid-Lindenmayer

LAYOUT

Thailand

Markus Stichel

Torkos Ploetz Design

Vietnam

Katrin Brehmer

WORKSHOP CONCEPT AND DELIVERY Beldan Sezen

Cover image ©GeorgePeters/istock.com

© All rights reserved. Changes and errors excepted. The work and all of its parts are protected by copyright. Any use in other than the cases permitted by law require the prior consent of the Goethe-Institut.

ENVISIONING YOUR FUTURE THROUGH VISUAL STORYTELLING

omics “ The power of c sal lies in its univer y. abilit communication to It can take us in nexisting and no in a existing worlds It can . e y e n a f o k n li b our bear witness of ose times and prop a ways to imagine e.” different futur

This booklet showcases comics that were created during the dareCon! student workshop “Writing in Pictures — Envisioning Your Future through Visual Storytelling”.

The virtual conference on digital youth culture — dareCon! — organised by the Goethe-Institut, took place from Friday, 23 April to Sunday, 25 April 2021.

During dareCon! 79 high school students from the Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand (SAN) region of the GoetheInstitut and from Germany discussed their vision for the future. Together with the organisations Jugend hackt, IMAGINARY — open mathematics, Glocal Films, the artists Beldan Sezen and Susanne Heincke the students used digital workshops to give their generation a voice.

In the workshop “Writing in Pictures” students learned how to convey their ideas, feelings and perspectives through the medium of comics.

The workshop was led by Beldan Sezen, an artist and writer whose work includes graphic novels, artists’ books, drawings, essays, and installations. She is a curator of artists’ books and the editor and co-publisher of Cypher, a digital comics magazine that brings audiences into the radical lives and dangerous work of human rights defenders around the world. Her work is part of special collections in institutional and public libraries.

ENVISIONING YOUR FUTURE THROUGH VISUAL STORYTELLING

i

Vietnam

Philippines

Malaysia Thailand

Myanmar

Indonesia

Singapore Australia

New Zealand

ii

COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING AT DARECON!

Original map illustration file ©kukando/istock.com

Germany

PREFACE “Super cool!” I thought when the Goethe-Institut in Australia asked me to participate in dareCon!, a conference on digital youth culture for teenagers from Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Germany. The first question I asked myself was, could I come up with a workshop where students could work on imagining their future through visual storytelling? Of course! Because there’s no better way to envision your future than by drawing it. Even the UN sees scenario art, which is nothing more than visual storytelling, as a force for sustainable development. All you need is a pen and a piece of paper.

Many of the students who attended the workshop told me either that they weren’t really into drawing or that they couldn’t draw. This was the most surprising moment for me.

The works that were created during those eight hours at dareCon! impressed me. Every one of the participants told their story visually. Their drawings ranged from simple, almost abstract forms and stick figures to full realised comics and, even, wall painting.

power, recycling, the value of democracy and the impact and need for education that is accessible to all regardless of gender and class.

The power of comics lies in their ability to communicate with everyone. They can take us into real and imaginary worlds in a blink of an eye. Comics can bear witness to our times and propose ways to imagine a different future.

Almost all of the participants were working with pencil and paper. A tangible, non-digital medium during a 100% digital conference, reminding us that comics, visual story telling can be done anytime, anywhere under almost any circumstance.

All you need is an idea.

Beldan Sezen WORKSHOP PRESENTER

My goal for participants was to draw and narrate their future using only pen and paper. How do I get from problem A to solution B through the necessary steps C. Yes, “Der Weg is das Ziel”. Once visually realised, the idea can be shared, discussed and worked upon. It’s a roadmap to spark interest and invite others to join in to create said vision. The attendees drew stories about the climate crisis, the impact of COVID, consumer

iii ENVISIONING YOUR FUTURE THROUGH VISUAL STORYTELLING

CONTENTS 1

Erin (Australia) THE RED JACKET

Min Yu (Malaysia) FOODCHAIN

6

9

13

16

18

iV

20 Fai (Thailand)

ROBOTS

24 Ha An (Vietnam)

BEACH CLEAN UP

Caitlin (New Zealand) SUPPORTING ALL WOMEN IN STEM

28 Izzy (Singapore)

Joy (Myanmar) SAY NO TO CLIMATE CHANGE

30 Faris (Malaysia)

Esty (Thailand)

Delon (Indonesia) MY LIFE WITH ROBOT

COVID, HOPES AND DREAMS — A MURAL

THE FAITHFUL DOG

Prushyapong (Thailand) EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE

goethe.de/darecon

ERIN (Australia)

THE RED JACKET 01

02

Canvas background and arrows ©rawpixel.com/ freepik.com

03

ERIN (Australia) THE RED JACKET

Canvas background and arrows ©rawpixel.com/freepik.com

04

05 ERIN (Australia)

THE RED JACKET

MIN YU (Malaysia)

FOODCHAIN 06

07 MIN YU (Malaysia) FOODCHAIN

08

CAITLIN (New Zealand)

SUPPORTING ALL WOMEN IN STEM 09

10

Backgrounds: Halftone ©slav /istock.com | Texture ©bedneyimages/freepik.com

11

CAITLIN (New Zealand) SUPPORTING ALL WOMEN IN STEM

Backgrounds: Halftone ©slav/istock.com | Texture ©bedneyimages/freepik.com

12

JOY (Myanmar)

SAY NO TO CLIMATE CHANGE

13

14

Texture background ©bedneyimages/freepik.com

15

JOY (Myanmar) SAY NO TO CLIMATE CHANGE

DELON (Indonesia)

MY LIFE WITH ROBOT 16

17 DELON (Indonesia) MY LIFE WITH ROBOT

PRUSHYAPONG (Thailand)

EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE 18

19 PRUSHYAPONG (Thailand) EDUCATION FOR EVERYONE

FAI (Thailand)

ROBOTS 20

21 FAI (Thailand) ROBOTS

22

Halftone background ©alicia-mb /freepik.com

23

FAI (Thailand) ROBOTS

HA AN (Vietnam)

BEACH CLEAN UP 24

Moiré background ©Tirachard/freepik.com

25

HA AN (Vietnam) BEACH CLEAN UP

26

Moiré background ©Tirachard/freepik.com

27

HA AN (Vietnam) BEACH CLEAN UP

IZZY (Singapore)

COVID, HOPES AND DREAMS — A MURAL 28

29 IZZY (Singapore) COVID, HOPES AND DREAMS — A MURAL

FARIS (Malaysia) ESTY (Thailand)

THE FAITHFUL DOG 30

Dog background ©Kudryashka/istock.com

31 FARIS (Malaysia) | ESTY (Thailand) THE FAITHFUL DOG

Dog background © Kudryashka/istock.com

32

CONTACTS IN THE COUNTRIES Australia Anna-Lena.Schenck@goethe.de Indonesia Antje.Nehls@goethe.de Malaysia Daniela.Wolf@goethe.de Myanmar Suzan.Radwan@goethe.de Philippines Jens.Roesler@goethe.de Singapore Martina.Schmid-Lindenmayer@goethe.de Thailand Markus.Stichel@goethe.de Vietnam Katrin.Brehmer@goethe.de New Zealand

Judith.Geare@goethe.de

Thank you to Beldan Sezen an d all the workshop participants!

AUSTRALIA goethe.de/Australia

VIETNAM goethe.de/Vietnam

INDONESIA goethe.de/Indonesia

PHILIPPINES goethe.de/Philippinen

THAILAND goethe.de/Thailand

SINGAPORE goethe.de/Singapore

MYANMAR goethe.de/Myanmar

MALAYSIA goethe.de/Malaysia

NEW ZEALAND goethe.de/Newzealand