On a cold Saturday evening in Melbourne’s western suburbs, the Wyndham Community Hall hummed with quiet excitement. Many members of Divya Jyoti Jagrati Sansthan (DJJS)—a global spiritual nonprofit—had gathered not for prayer, but to master a different skill: storytelling.
This was The Indian Sun‘s media training workshop, part of a Victorian government initiative to strengthen multicultural voices. The mission was practical: transform community members into confident storytellers, whether as citizen journalists, content creators, or future media professionals.
For this diverse group—students, volunteers, and elders—the workshop was their first dive into media production. They learned mobile journalism basics, social media storytelling, and interview techniques. The room buzzed with questions as participants grasped media’s power to connect communities and challenge stereotypes.
One young girl lit up when learning the “inverted pyramid” news structure. The concept of the “inverted pyramid” in news writing is a structure that places the most important information at the beginning of a story, followed by supporting details in descending order of significance.
“It makes so much sense—putting the important facts first,” she said.
Others discovered how everyday experiences could become compelling stories.
Asthaa found the focus on human connection particularly moving. “It was a brilliant session,” she said. “I particularly found the emphasis on human connection and how you can find humanity in stories, it is something I hadn’t considered before. I really enjoyed it.”
Archana valued the practical takeaways: “I’ve learned media techniques we can use for our social media, press releases, and communication. The insights were so valuable.”
Shivang, who leads a marketing team, said, “This was a great presentation on how to write newsletters. I’d never been taught that before, and I’ve learned so much.”
DJJS leaders Pramod and Dilsher saw broader potential. “We’ve learned how to use media more effectively,” they said. “This will help us tell our stories in a way that others can connect with and share with other communities.”
A volunteer offered deeper insight: “Multicultural media isn’t just food and festivals—our stories matter, and we must tell them.”
As the workshop ended, one older participant paused at the door. “Back home, we only read newspapers,” he reflected. “Here, we can make them.” With that, he stepped into the night: no longer just a consumer of stories, but a potential creator.
In a world hungry for authentic voices, a motley group of fifty new storytellers had hopefully found their tools.
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