PROMOTING ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP THROUGH DIGITAL STORYTELLING: AN EVALUATION OF RHODES UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SOCIAL INNOVATION HUB

Abstract

<jats:p>Social innovation involves community members identifying community assets and taking the initiative to implement development projects through community participation and fostering social cohesion. Social cohesion is the tendency for community members to engage meaningfully and share ideas, knowledge and resources regardless of differences. In postcolonial societies such as South Africa, with racialised class divisions and inadequate access to basic public services, social innovation contributes to community development and action against injustices. Rhodes University, through its Community Engagement division, explored the use of digital social innovation, namely digital storytelling, to stimulate social innovation and cohesion in the Makhanda community. This paper reflects on the impact of this project on previous participants a year after its implementation, using questionnaires and textual analysis. The findings reveal that, in this instance, digital storytelling did contribute to fostering social cohesion through the story circle process.</jats:p>