On 22 April, at the Daugavpils Regional and Art Museum and on 23 April at Bebru Primary School, Aizkraukle Municipality, a storytelling workshop “Can words shift the world?” by Tine Winther took place, gathering youngsters excited to learn the practicalities of storytelling.
This was the latest of the line of storytelling workshops Tine has run in Latvia within the framework of the international Storytelling project. The event in Daugavpils alone was attended by more than twenty participants. Tine has extensive experience in working with youngsters, and, besides deep knowledge on the history and importance of storytelling in the context of cultural heritage, she also openly shares creative methods, techniques, and exercises for upgrading one’s storytelling skills.
Endowed with the talent to unleash the creative spark of storytelling in everyone, she has her own special way of making people believe that a storyteller lives within each of us. Tine is convinced that anyone can tell stories by mastering if only a couple of simple techniques. At the workshops, she was sharing and encouraging youngsters to practice some of her favourite tips and tricks. Learning storytelling techniques became easier the moment they realized the positive practical implications – improved presentation skills can help improve grades at school and be put to use in all sorts of situations in life.
Asked about the storytelling traditions in Sweden and her observations working with young people in Latvia, Tine said:
“Swedish youngsters are more used to storytelling. Especially in the area where I live, because storytelling is a big part of the area [where the Museum of Legends is located], because it has been cultivated there for 35 or so years. Latvian youngsters have read stories, but, presumably, grown-ups seldomly have told them stories. In Sweden, there is a trend of telling stories instead of reading them. You remember a story differently when you hear it and when you read it. Perhaps Latvian young people lack the encouragement to trust themselves to tell a story. Encouragement can be, for example, a positive example of adults telling stories instead of just reading aloud. You are taught to learn everything by heart, to learn a text word by word. Therefore, youngsters don’t feel as free when facing an opportunity to tell a story. Latvian youngsters rely greatly on text compared to Sweden, where it is easier for them not to get stuck in words.”
Tine Winther is Director of Sagobygden – the Museum of Legends. She has studied storytelling in Sweden and abroad. Besides the background as a social worker, her daily work has been closely linked with children and youngsters. She has also developed life-long learning programmes for educators and is guiding tours at the Museum of Legends.
Tīne encourages us to notice stories all around us – in our everyday lives, in the city, county and nation. She compares stories to a magnet able to spark the interest in people in rediscovering their own land. Sightseeing highlights are just one part of successful tourism. The other is uncovered by legends and stories of those tourist attractions. Moreover, storytelling is an effective tool for preserving language and national values, which are dear to Latvians.
The Museum of Legends is a storytelling centre in Sweden. For more than 30 years, its main task has been to nurture and preserve the oral tradition of telling stories and legends and pass it on to future generations as part of Sweden’s intangible cultural heritage.
The storytelling workshop was coordinated by our colleagues Ieva Hermansone and Vadims Murašovs.
