Digital storytelling Program at Healthy Child Uganda, Department of Maternal Newborn and Child Healthy, Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Since 2019, the Digital Storytelling (DST) program; a collaborative initiative implemented by Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Uganda, the University of Calgary (UC), MicroResearch and Common Language in Canada.

Digital Storytelling refers to a Process of working with people (storytellers) to create a Product, called digital story (3-5min film). To date, the Mbarara University hub has produced over 70 short digital stories that amplify diverse voices and perspectives guided by research data and community needs in general. 

Under the Healthy Child Uganda Program, digital stories have been screened across various audiences including communities, key district stakeholders, and decision-makers to inform policies at multiple levels.

A DST hub has been established at MUST, equipped with a dedicated studio and trained facilitators, offering professional storytelling services to communities, institutions across Uganda and beyond. Notably, the hub recently collaborated with Uganda's Ministry of Health to produce 14 regional stories supporting adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) messaging and dialogue nationwide. The hub has also played a regional leadership role by orienting universities in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Malawi most notably Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, which has since evolved into a DST site.