GROUP winnerS
Team : Standard Elites
- Member names
- Liah Kulang Yak , Goal Nyoat Gai, Chudier Gatluony Jany, Nyanak Gatkoi Biel, Marnaath Tap Majiok, Gatnuan Liah, Gatdiet Guol Deng & Nyakume Joseph Mabuot
Youth ambassadors
Meet Our Archive Youth Ambassadors
To engage young people as leaders and build excitement about our unique history, the Unity Community Archive launched a competition to collect meaningful, diverse oral histories, records, photographs, songs, and other historical materials. The archive team conducted workshops with almost 700 students from secondary schools in Bentiu and Rubkona. Students were introduced to responsible archive building, interviewing, documentation, informed consent, and community storytelling. To see how our youth were trained and our recommendations for collecting archive content, especially in rural, remote, and low-budget settings, review our half-day archive training curriculum.
Group winnerS
Team : Standard Stars
- Member names
- Wuon Nhial Marop, Nyakume Chichuom Kai & Nyamuch Guin Tut
Youth Ambassadors
Young community historians leading with care and responsibility.
Our Youth Ambassadors program prepares young people to document stories with respect, curiosity, and consent. Ambassadors learn the skills of listening, recording, and describing memories in ways that keep community members safe and in control of their narratives.
This is not a competition or a showcase. It is a shared practice of stewardship, where each participant follows clear guidance on privacy, review, and permissions before anything is shared publicly. Every contribution is treated as a trust.
Training
Listening and documentation skills
Ambassadors practice interview preparation, respectful consent conversations, and accurate metadata so stories can be found and understood without overexposure.
Responsibility
Care for privacy and safety
Youth Ambassadors follow clear safeguarding steps: permission forms, review checkpoints, and the ability for storytellers to limit or remove access at any time.
Community storytelling
Collecting memories together
Teams work with families, elders, and neighbors to capture everyday histories—using language and formats that reflect the community and honor lived experience.
Youth Ambassadors work within a guided review process and never publish stories without explicit permission.
Learn about privacy and ethical useYouth ambassadors
Listening with care, documenting with integrity.
Youth ambassadors support the archive by working alongside families and elders to collect oral histories, photographs, songs, and local records. Their role centers on respectful listening, clear consent, and community-defined storytelling.
Core responsibilities
- Prepare interview guides that invite open storytelling without pressure or assumptions.
- Document oral histories, songs, and photographs with clear notes on context and permissions.
- Share progress with the archive team and respond to community feedback.
Responsible interviewing
Ambassadors explain the purpose of the archive, ask permission before recording, and allow participants to pause or stop at any time. Interviews prioritize comfort, dignity, and the storyteller’s own words.
Informed consent
Consent is documented for each story or item. Contributors decide what can be shared publicly, what should remain private, and whether they want their name attached.
Safeguarded documentation
Collected materials are reviewed for sensitivity and stored with care. Ambassadors follow guidance on data handling, confidentiality, and respectful publication.