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