Abstract:

This paper describe a simple but innovative project about the use of Digital Storytelling in a group of food safety professionals: physicians, veterinarians, biologists, chemists, nutritionists and prevention technicians, of the Veneto regional health system (Italy). During a training course, participants learned to use simple software tools to create small narrative videos about their professional everyday practice. They worked in small groups telling "war stories" each others, taken from their work experience and choosing which one to realize. In a second step, they wrote together the storyboards and created the videos.
In such a process, they promoted reflective practices and become a real "community of practice", collaborating in a productive environment negotiating shared meanings: this contributed to take a new perspective on their job and helped to reach a higher level of awareness about their specific professional competencies about critical work issues. Moreover, the use of Digital Storytelling, in this kind of context, was a real trigger to develop effective team-building processes, fostering high levels of commitment and motivation, and "capturing" tacit knowlege.

Keywords:

Digital storytelling, professional community of practice, team building.