HEAR MY VOICE
In 2024, ALN partnered with the IMatter Women's Rights Campaign to develop Hear My Voice, a community-led storytelling initiative designed to amplify the voices of women and girls affected by conflict, displacement, and social inequality.
Empowerment through SHRH Education in Kenya
Why We Designed It
Across humanitarian and development sectors, the experiences of women and girls are frequently documented, researched, and discussed. Yet too often, they have limited influence over how their stories are told or how their realities are represented. While their experiences inform policies, programmes, and advocacy efforts, their own voices are often absent from the conversations that shape them. Hear My Voice was developed to address this gap by placing narrative ownership directly in the hands of women and girls.
What ALN Built
ALN designed Hear My Voice around a simple but often overlooked question: who gets to tell the story?
Too often, women and girls affected by conflict, displacement, and crisis are asked to share their experiences, while others interpret, package, and amplify those stories on their behalf. ALN wanted to test a different approach—one that treated storytelling not as a communications exercise, but as a form of participation, leadership, and influence.
Working alongside IMatter, ALN developed a community-led model that shifted creative and narrative control to women and girls themselves. Grounded in the Women, Peace and Security pillars of Participation, Prevention, Protection, Relief, and Recovery, the initiative provided women-led organisations in Yemen, Kenya, and Ecuador with resources and technical support to facilitate locally driven storytelling projects.
The result was more than a collection of stories. It was a platform for women and girls to shape how their experiences, priorities, and solutions are understood—transforming storytelling from an extractive process into a tool for visibility, agency, and locally led advocacy.
Partner Showcases
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Women-Led Digital Narratives on Protection and Participation
In partnership with women and girls from its Women, Peace and Security program, SOS Foundation for Development co-created a digital storytelling journey that captured powerful stories of protection, participation, and survival amid conflict. Through guided conversations and creative workshops, participants crafted messages rooted in their own experiences and contributed to bilingual visuals and a youth-driven podcast series. This project became a living archive of women’s voices, illuminating how they navigate danger, champion their rights, and strengthen their communities in times of crisis.
To see more, check out their YouTube Channel
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Local Stories on Protection
Polycom Girls joined forces with adolescent girls and young women in Kibera to uncover daily realities of safety, participation, and transformation. Through a collaborative design process, participants surfaced the issues closest to their hearts and created youth-led content using photography, digital storytelling, TikTok, and Talking Boxes. The project captured fresh perspectives on violence prevention, decision-making, safe spaces, climate displacement, and shifting gender norms, revealing how young women are boldly shaping peace and protection in their own neighbourhoods.
To know more, check out their website
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Local Stories on Home, Belonging and Everyday Protection
Las Reinas Pepiadas partnered with Venezuelan refugee and migrant women to explore the meanings of home, dignity, and belonging amid displacement. Through photography and storytelling, participants captured moments of daily life, family bonds, shared meals, and the places where they rebuild safety and connection after migration. These visual stories brought to light the often unseen aspects of protection and recovery, showing how women nurture stability, care, and belonging even as they journey through uncertainty.
To learn more, check out their social media
The collection of stories was unveiled during WPS Month in October 2024, reaching wider audiences through IMatter’s digital advocacy channels and fueling a broader campaign for genuine gender inclusion in humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts.