Running from November 2024 to October 2027 with a €1.2 million budget, TECH TALES brings together seven partners from six European countries, including the lead organisation – the Institute for Transmedia Design→ (Slovenia) – and partners Art Rebel 9→ (Slovenia), the Vienna Design Office→ (Austria), the NGO FLUX→ (Montenegro), ART TRANSPARENT→ (Poland), Grupa Hajde da …→ (Serbia), IAAC – FabLab Barcelona→ (Spain), with the aim of fostering empathy and creativity among children. The project is co-funded by the European Union.
Co-creating Fairy Tales Across Europe
This spring, Twisted Tales came to life in classrooms, libraries, and community spaces across Montenegro, Slovenia, North Macedonia, and Serbia. As part of the Tech Tales project→, children became true co-authors of our twisted fairy tales, using drawing, storytelling, sound, and performance to shape the stories in their own way.
Children explored Desiree and the Snow Queen→, The Princess and Her Frog Friend→ and Allen and the Magic Lamp→. Guided by educators and storytellers, they reflected on love, empathy, and courage while shaping the characters with their own voices and imagination.
Photo: Matej Končan
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In Slovenia, our workshop at the Regional and Study Library in Murska Sobota brought together children eager to dive into Desiree and the Snow Queen.
The story sparked big conversations about bullying, friendship, Down syndrome, and belonging. Some participants enjoyed it so much that they invited their friends to join the following sessions – perhaps the most sincere form of feedback we could wish for.
In North Macedonia, the author Kalina Maleska led a workshop on The Princess and Her Frog Friend.
Through this story about unlikely friendships and looking beyond appearances, children discussed kindness, trust, and differences.
Finally, in Serbia, Desiree and the Snow Queen once again opened space for questions that matter.
How can we understand others better? What do inclusion and empathy look like in real life? With countless creative ideas, the children reminded us that storytelling is not just a way to imagine – it’s a way to learn to live together.
All of their thoughts, ideas and creations will inspire the visual design of the tale in its final form.
One of the core values of Twisted Tales is participation, which permeates the entire creative process of our stories. Sometimes through conversations, sometimes through illustrations or sound, children’s contributions are never just additions, they are the very life force that enriches and shapes the tales we tell. Next stops: Austria, Poland and Spain.
