An intercultural exchange between students from high schools and MBO schools in the Netherlands and Suriname, in which students use an online collaboration to record the life stories of inhabitants of each other’s countries in short documentaries. These Mini Chronicles highlight the connection between the Netherlands and Suriname. Our shared history is an important topic in this. But global themes are also discussed, such as equality, belonging and climate.
Young people are challenged to engage in conversation with each other about commemoration of past events and awareness of the different points of view from which history is written. An important theme in this is the history of slavery and the colonial rule of Suriname by the Netherlands until 1975 and how this also touches on themes from the present, such as equality and the freedom to be yourself. Teachers in both countries will guide this dialogue and ensure that young people can discuss this in a respectful manner.
The films made are screened at premieres for local communities and at film festivals in the two countries. Then the films will be published in the film collection on the Mini Chronicles website. Selected films will also be included in the national archives of both countries.
From February 2024, schoolchildren will be offered the Minikronieken curriculum in parallel in the Netherlands and in Suriname. Part of the program is to initiate a dialogue among the young people on topics that are important to them and about which they would like to make a film. Professional filmmakers in both countries come into the classrooms to coach students on their film productions.
Watch the film below in which Masja de Roy explains the project, the program was broadcasted on Suriname television in july 2023 (in Dutch).
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Project Information
This project is a pilot in which an international variant of the Minikronieken teaching method is being used in schools in Suriname and the Netherlands. In the process, students in both countries receive instruction in documentary filmmaking and their teachers acquire the skills to guide their students in this process. The learning resources consist of videos, instructional cards, scripts and a production file. The method will be transferred so that schools can work with it themselves in the future.
With the Minikronieken method, developed in the Netherlands, citizens are trained to capture life stories of others in short films, guided by professional documentary filmmakers. They put these skills into practice by making short films with life stories of people they get to choose. The method is suitable for young people as young as 12 years old and for adults.
A Mini Chronicle differs from an informational film or reportage in that it uses storytelling principles and interview techniques that provide a probing look into a person’s personal life. This gives the films a great impact on the viewers as well as the creators.
Mini chronicles have been used in community projects since 2014 where talent development, connection and fraternization are important goals. Youth and adults increase their media skills through Mini Chronicles and learn to produce socially relevant content for social media. This makes Mini Chronicles appealing to young people who have grown up in the Internet age. After all, they want to communicate in their own specific way. The storytelling and media techniques they learn through Mini Chronicles meet this need and leave room for their own artistic interpretation.