Conducted as part of the Women in Water Governance Project (WIWG), a collaboration between the EWMI’s Open Development Initiative (EWMI-ODI), International Rivers, Oxfam, and the Knowledge for Development Foundation (K4D) that aims to provide women in the Mekong River basin of Southeast Asia with both the tools and the platform needed to share information and perspectives and influence water governance policies, the Data Storytelling for Women in the Mekong training workshop took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand from June 13-15, 2024, with support from the World Bank.

The training’s objective was to improve the participant women leaders’ data skills and train them on storytelling techniques to empower them to control their narratives and amplify their voices and stories to influence policy. The workshop was broken down into four modules:

1. From Evidence to Stories: This module showed how data can be used to create stories and how open data affects policy at the national level. Participants were able to explore the drafting process of data-driven stories through analyzing case studies.
   
   
2. Understanding and Working with Data: This module provided basic data organization concepts and simple tools participants could use to evaluate data sources.
   
   
3. Data Visualization and Storytelling: This module provided an introduction on basic methods that could be used to convey data and information through visually effective and attractive stories.
   
   
4. Digital Rights and Security: This module covered key online security practices to be used when using technology such as smartphones, computers, datasets, and the Internet.

Training participants came from a variety of countries and professional experiences: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam were all represented, and participants ranged from university students to working professionals with more than 10 years of experience.