Can you introduce us to the Story Lab?

We are a general interest association created in 2011. Our vocation is to make young people want to write. The founders had noted that outside the school, there are few or no structures dedicated to the practice of writing seen from the angle of pleasure and which goes beyond the school framework where it is first approached from the angle of spelling and grammar. It is also about breaking its elitist image. We therefore organize thematic workshops with writing professionals and in partnership with structures welcoming young people from 6 to 25 years. They can be partners in education, social, cultural or popular education. And thanks to our twelve regional offices, we operate throughout France and overseas.

How does your project fit into the Cultural Summer programme?

Our priority is young people from the city’s priority neighbourhoods and remote rural areas, those who often do not go on holiday. The summer period is conducive to take writing out of the school setting and associate it with a hobby. The Ministry of Culture has trusted us since the creation of the Cultural Summer. Each year, we propose a specific project with always the will to make discover the multiplicity of forms of writing: comics, song, short film, etc. In 2024, we will host between 500 and 600 creative sessions in 45 structures and reach about 1,200 young people. Two main themes: sport and the environment. We will thus associate the practice of a sport with the practice of writing. And on the other hand, give a taste of 2025, the year of the oceans in France, by inviting young people to write the future of the oceans.

Is the Cultural Summer bearing fruit?

Every year, the structures want to renew their partnership. So the formula works. We also see that the residences of writers in summer camps are increasingly interested in these structures. Now, how can these summer experiences make young people want to extend the practice the rest of the year? We offer them, for example, writing contests and keep the link with them via social networks and our newsletter (just register on our site) to guide them towards initiatives related to writing. We are also working on a digital tool to encourage them to continue the practice. There are still so many great stories to write!

The news in +

The Story lab also offers training to youth supervisors and publishes documentary resources on creative writing. It has published a guide for young people wishing to take part in the writing competition organized during the summer of 2024 by the Pass Culture on the theme: « One step towards the other ".