• Yap Sesh: Storytelling & Podcasting Program

  • Yap Sesh: Storytelling & Podcasting Program is an initiative by ACON for multicultural Westies who love to yap.

    This program is an 8-week workshop series, inspired by the ethos of culturally safe, non-extractive, and empowering storytelling that we cultivated in the Yap Sesh: community story sharing events earlier this year. Attendance at the Yap Sesh events is not a prerequisite to attend the Storytelling & Podcasting Program.

    Over the 8 weeks, participants will take part in workshops and have the opportunity to write their story, create a podcast script, and record their story idea as a podcast. 

    By the end of this program participants will have:

    • Skills in storytelling and presentation for audio
    • Their story published as part of a 'Yap Sesh' podcast
    • A community of fellow Multicultural LGBTQ+ Westies to share the experience
    • A $300 honourarium as a thanks for contributing to this work

    Eligibility Criteria

    To be eligible to take part in this program an applicant must:

    • Identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community
    • Have lived experience of being First Nations, culturally, racially, or ethnically diverse/marginalised, and/or a person of colour
    • Have a connection to Greater Western Sydney (grew up there, live there now, work in the community, etc)
    • Meet the attendance requirements (listed on the next page)

    Application process

    To apply for this program, please complete the application form. This should take about 15 – 20 minutes of your time.

    We will be asking:

    • If you meet the attendance requirements
    • Some info about you
    • Your storytelling ideas, inspiration, and experience

    Once applications are received, they will be assessed based on the eligibility criteria and which stories are most appropriate for the program.

    Successful applicants will be notified within 3 weeks of the application close date.

    When & Where

    The workshop series will take place between 26th August 2026 - 15th October 2026 at venues in Parramatta. Please see the next page for detailed attendance requirements.

    Applications close 10 August 2026 11:59pm 

     

  • Attendance Requirements

  • In order to take part in the program we require all participants to be able to meet our attendance requirements.

    Story Writing Workshops

    These workshops will be held in a venue near Parramatta station from 5:00PM - 7:00PM on the following evenings:

    • Workshop 1 – 26/08/26
    • Workshop 2 – 02/09/26
    • Workshop 3 – 09/09/26
    • Workshop 4 – 16/09/26

    Participants must agree to attend all story writing workshops to be eligible for this program

    In-Studio Sessions

    These workshops will be held in a studio near Parramatta station from 5:00PM - 7:00PM. Participants can choose to attend one of two dates for each workshop:

    • Studio Session 1 – 23/09/26 OR 24/09/26
    • Studio Session 2 – 30/09/26 OR 01/10/26
    • Studio Session 3  - 07/10/26 OR 08/10/26

    Participants must agree to attend one in-studio workshop per week to be eligible for this program

  • Do you agree to meet the attendance requirements as listed above?*

  • You must agree to the attendance requirements to continue with this application. If you have any questions about this please contact mprakash@acon.org.au

  • About You


  •
  •  -
  • What's your gender identity?*
  • Is this the same as your sex assigned at birth?*
  • What's your sexuality?*
  • Do you identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander?*
  • Do you speak a language other than English?*
  • What is your connection to Greater Western Sydney?*

  • Application Questions

  • Do you have any storytelling/podcasting/audio experience? (Note: This is not essential, we're just curious!)*
  • Would you like to be contacted about future events and opportunities from ACON?*
  • Should be Empty: