Today Janet Cullingford, Services Manager at ICANN, wonders how we can best relay the stories of those we support:
Alongside our participation in the Cancer Older People and Advocacy programme, ICANN is a delivery partner and member of the Older People’s Cancer Voices project steering group. I have been musing of late on the subject of how we can best tell the stories of the people we have been working with and promote the fantastic work our advocates, especially our peer advocates, have been carrying out to improve the lives and experiences of older people affected by cancer.
ICANN staff and volunteers have started a series of workshops to increase and improve our social media presence. In the first one we gathered our thoughts to develop a strategy and plan for how we can best promote our work, and are going to do further workshops to improve our Facebook and Twitter skills.
We started a Twitter account very recently and have already gained 75 followers, come and tweet with us @ICANN_Advocacy. Andy one of our younger volunteers manages our Facebook page for us www.facebook.com/ICANNLancs. It would be great to see you on there!
The words we choose can be very important, do we TELL our stories or even SING about them. Whilst talking to many of the people who access our services, some like to ‘Tell a Tale or two….’
Many people talk about their cancer journey, however others do not feel that this truly reflects their experiences, and a journey implies a destination.
As advocates we are there to be a voice for our clients, when their ability to voice things may be wavering due to illness, age or vulnerability, but we must be sensitive that when we tell their stories it is in a way that they are comfortable with.
Margaret and Vivian from ICANN
ICANN took part in the series of films that OPAAL produced last year to promote Cancer Older People and Advocacy. One of our clients enjoyed participating so much he treasures the picture he was presented with and has requested a copy of his entire interview prior to it hitting the cutting room floor!
Janet Cullingford, ICANN
What’s the best way of telling stories that reflects the value of the support our advocates provide? Tell us what you think.
Marie, OPAAL
Older People Living with Cancer 