Voices of the Hills: Creative Storytelling Workshop invites 30 young storytellers from the Chittagong Hill Tracts and plain land Indigenous communities to explore powerful, creative, and contemporary ways of telling their own stories — stories of identity, culture, struggle, hope, and belonging. This is not just a workshop. It is a three-day residential creative journey where stories are shaped, shared, and celebrated together.Through hands-on learning, participants explored five core storytelling approaches — Illustration-Based Storytelling, AI-Based Storytelling, Literature-Based Storytelling, Puppetry, and Visual Documentary — blending tradition with innovation to amplify Indigenous voices in diverse and meaningful ways.
Objectives
- Strengthen storytelling skills among Indigenous youth from the Chittagong Hill Tracts
- Preserve and document Indigenous cultures, identities, and lived experiences through creative expression
- Empower youth voices through diverse storytelling forms including writing, illustration, videography, and digital tools
- Foster mentorship, collaboration, and creative leadership among young Indigenous storytellers
- Create a safe and inclusive space for cultural expression, dialogue, and community bonding
Workshop Summary
Voices of Hills: Creative Storytelling Workshop is a three-day residential creative initiative designed to empower Indigenous youth from the Chittagong Hill Tracts to tell their own stories using powerful, contemporary, and culturally rooted storytelling methods. Indigenous communities in the hills have long faced marginalization and underrepresentation, resulting in the gradual loss of narratives that reflect their lived realities, cultural identities, and collective memory — particularly among younger generations.
As modernization and social exclusion continue to widen this gap, many Indigenous youth lack access to creative tools, mentorship, and safe spaces to express themselves. Voices of the Hills addresses this challenge by placing youth at the center of the storytelling process and equipping them with both traditional and digital storytelling skills.
The workshop kicked off with incredible energy under the facilitation of Amir Hamza, where participants engaged in diverse group activities and hands-on storytelling techniques, learning how to shape powerful narratives from their lived experiencesThe second day was dedicated to learning from an inspiring lineup of mentors. A special online session with Andrés Mauricio Laguna Bonilla, a PhD student in Theatre & Performance Research, introduced participants to the art of puppet performance.
-Uting Marma led Creative Writing & Research, guiding participants through practical storytelling approaches. Dachangnu, an Indigenous rights activist and scholar, explored human rights and youth advocacy through poetry and storytelling. U Wong Shwe introduced AI tools for creative video storytelling. Mong Shonai facilitated a hands-on Illustration & Visual Arts session. Preety Tanchangya closed the day with a focused session on Videography and best practices in visual storytelling.
The final day brought everything together as participants worked closely with their mentors to develop scripts and stories under themes including AI & Creative Storytelling, Creative Writing & Research, Illustration & Visual Arts, Documentation, and Literature-Based Storytelling. Learning turned into action as ideas became structured stories and teamwork brought every concept closer to life.
As the sun set on the final day, the workshop came to a close with a bonfire and dance, bringing every participant, mentor, and facilitator together in celebration — a joyful and heartfelt ending that truly reflected the spirit of the Voices of the Hills.