Stories to connect


'Stories bring us together, untold stories keep us apart.'

Contemporary militia piece - new faces and stories of North Holland. From left to right: Karin, Mirna, Sas, Tomoko, Susanne, Krystyna, Taghrid, Corrina, Mitra (photo: Coco Olakunle)

Every person is a library. And every city or village is a world full of stories. Yet we mainly know the stories of people who look like us. Many other people and their stories remain hidden from us. The desire to get to know each other is often there, but the places where this actually happens are few. We create such a place with Stories to connect. Here we come together with women from the same city who do not naturally meet each other in everyday life. This is where we write our stories. Here we use different (artistic) languages to shape our stories. And here we listen.

A record number of people worldwide are on the run as a result of war, conflict and persecution. More than 110 million people are currently forcibly displaced. In many large Western European cities, the majority of residents have a migration background.


At the same time, more and more people live in a social bubble. Research shows that segregation in Europe continues to grow. There is currently a political climate in Europe in which different 'groups' in the same country do not come together, but rather oppose each other.

This is disturbing and does not lead to peaceful coexistence. For a truly inclusive society you not only need 'bonding' (contact with people who look like you) but also 'bridging' (contact with people who belong to a different group than you belong to).


But where in the city are there places where you can meet people from other communities or bubbles?


The local library can be such a place. The Stories to connect project takes place here.

During this project we meet weekly for three months with a group of women, on average 50% of whom have local roots and 50% roots elsewhere. In addition to autobiographical writing assignments, we work with photos, collages, textiles and audio. Together we prepare an installation, podcast or exhibition that gives voice and image to the experiences and stories of the participants. We hope to inspire fellow citizens to open up to so-called 'others'. With the participating women we form an ever-growing community.

Stories to connect, Haarlem

Listen to Taghrid's fairy tale (NL) here:

Listen to Taghrid's fairy tale (ARAB) here:

Listen to Tomoko's fairy tale (NL) here:

Listen to Tomoko's fairy tale (JAP) here:

Listen to Corrina's fairy tale here:

'All the women who listened to my story and tasted part of my life thought my story was crazy

and that gave me the courage to be proud of the past. A lot of things happened during my story

hidden feelings separate from the listeners and from myself. Those were special moments in which we felt a very strong connection with each other.'

Mitra Gilak, born in Iran. living in Haarlem for 20 years, 50 years.

'Because I am new in the Netherlands, life is not always easy. Sometimes I prefer to stay indoors. Stories to connect gave me purpose. Despite the bad times, I mobilized myself and met fantastic women. I learned from their strength and enjoyed being together. That kept me from becoming isolated and depressed.'

Krystyna Szakiewicz, born in Poland, living in Ijmuiden since 2023

I found meeting women from all kinds of cultures quite exciting. In my own circle, my non-heterosexual relationship is not an issue. I suddenly became aware that there is sometimes less tolerance in this regard within other cultures. Fortunately, it turned out not to be an issue within this group. There was a lot of recognition of what women in this world face in all different areas and that connects across all possible boundaries.'

Corrina van Wijk, born and raised in Ijmuiden, 54 years old.

'By participating in Stories to connect, I now dare to make my voice heard much more, because it is a safe place where women come into contact with each other and can really hear each other without judgement. All emotions are allowed. The apparently simple writing assignments generated the most beautiful stories.'

Sas Schrofer, overnight in Haarlem.

44 years old.

Workshops

Stories to connect is performed in the Netherlands and Northern Spain. Women who participated can follow a train-the-trainer in Haarlem or online so that they can guide small story groups themselves.

Over ons

Hidden Stories is an international collaboration between the Netherlands and Spain. Mirna Ligthart, Susanne Gijsbers, Dawlat Derbas, Mitra Gilak and Petra Vlasman have been carrying out this project since 2022 and the group of 'facilitators' is growing, partly because we provide training (offline and online) in guiding Hidden Stories groups.


The projects of Ligthart, Gijsbers, Derbas and Vlasman have the same objective. However, they all work from their own discipline, background and expertise.


More about Mirna Ligthart (NL) More about Susanne Gijsbers (NL) More about Petra Vlasman (ES/CAT)