By Lebone Rodah Mosima
RESONATE, an international audio storytelling festival, is inviting Africa-based journalists, sound artists, filmmakers, podcasters, and other creatives aged 18 to 35 to apply for its six-month Story Lab: Africa Otherwise residency.
The organisation said the programme will support a small cohort of Africa-based storytellers in creating character-driven, sonically rich stories, and that previous experience in audio is not required.
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“Across Africa, oral traditions run deep, yet too much storytelling is confined to news cycles and talk-based formats that flatten lived realities into headlines and soundbites,” RESONATE said.
It said participants will engage in a process that is both creative and collective.
“This residency is more than a training programme. It is a movement to build a new generation of audio producers across Africa, and an invitation to shift the terms of storytelling itself: towards work that moves beyond doom and gloom to centre complexity and lived experience,” RESONATE said.
It said the programme begins with an in-person workshop led by the Transom Travelling Workshop, starting on 1 August in Johannesburg.
“Following the workshop, the six participants will enter a five-month remote production cycle, working closely with audio industry experts as mentors to develop, report, and edit a three to five-minute audio story on youth issues in Africa around the shared theme: Africa Otherwise,” RESONATE said.
“The programme will culminate in a listening event of the fellows’ produced stories, with a world premiere at the Resonate Audio Storytelling Festival in Cape Town.”
Throughout the programme, participants will be provided with round-trip airfare, accommodation, a stipend, story production funding and an audio recording kit.
The programme also includes mentorship sessions, masterclasses on audio storytelling, opportunities to collaborate with a pan-African and international network of narrative audio producers, an all-access pass to RESONATE Cape Town, and a chance to pitch at the pitch party, with the possibility of winning a cash prize.
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Applicants must submit a motivational letter of about 500 words, a CV, story pitch of about 500 words, and two to three links to previous podcasts, films, written articles or other creative work.
Applicants should have a valid passport by the time selected participants are announced, as well as access to a laptop with a webcam, microphone and a reliable internet connection.
“Participants are expected to attend two 1.5-hour classes and two 1-hour mentoring sessions per month, and dedicate approximately 5 hours to story production per week,” RESONATE said.
It also urged applicants to familiarise themselves with Radio Workshop’s podcast, as the audio stories produced through the programme will be shared on Radio Workshop’s feed.
“We are looking for creative thinkers, cultural workers, essayists, writers, troublemakers, story weavers and braiders, organisers — anyone driven by creativity and a commitment to social justice,” RESONATE said.
