Postcards from Lebanon: showcase of Expressive-Creative Writing and Telling: from the humanities intervention, Expressive Writing and Telling in Crisis
The Lebanese financial crisis and resulting hyperinflation has caused significant loss of incomes for households, creating widespread scarcity of food, shelter, and other basic needs. When combined with the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing refugee crisis, the situation has had catastrophic effects across the country, particularly among the most vulnerable groups.
The works presented here are translations from the Arabic of writing and storytelling which arose in response to a series of recent Expressive Writing and Telling initiatives conducted in Lebanon as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council - Global Challenges- funded research project, Expressive Life Writing and Telling During Crisis: Addressing Urgent Needs in the Akkar Governorate, Lebanon.
Expressive Writing and Telling (EWT) is a form of storytelling that draws on imaginative and creative storytelling to express life experience and emotion and thereby support well-being and the building of resilience.
Previous work in EWT by the researchers has established that working in collaboration with partners who have local knowledge and expertise in the delivery of humanitarian aid and intervention, EWT can measurably increase the well-being of individuals in conflict and post-conflict regions, and aid in the development of social cohesion for vulnerable communities.
The aim of our most recent project in Akkar was to create a more flexible and adaptable curriculum and delivery for EWT during the current multi-faceted crisis. The project sought to forge a framework of support to help both local Lebanese and refugee communities express current challenges, to help enhance coping mechanisms, to build individual resilience and support community cohesion.
Details of the exercises and writing and telling prompts used in this and other EWT projects, as well as supporting research and information on the EWT methodology can be found here: https://expressivewritingforall.com/en/
Funding
Expressive Life Writing and Telling During Crisis: Addressing Urgent Needs in the Akkar Governorate, Lebanon
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
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Research Group
- Citizenship and Governance
- Contemporary Cultures of Writing
- Health and Wellbeing PRA (Priority Research Area)
