Digital audiovisual language represents an increasingly accessible resource for professionals operating in the cultural and educational sectors to enhance their activities. On the one hand, digital video enables the development of storytelling forms capable of engaging specific audiences, thereby fostering their participation in and adherence to cultural initiatives. On the other hand, audiovisual documentation allows for attributing value to experiences, combining accessibility with the scientific communication of the methodologies underpinning them.

This contribution analyzes a project developed through collaboration between ITER, the Turin Institution for Responsible Education—an instrumental body of the City of Turin within the Department of Educational Services—and INDIRE, the National Institute for Documentation, Innovation, and Educational Research.

The project involved researchers, educators, teachers, and media designers in defining solutions and expressive forms for the application of digital video storytelling and audiovisual documentation to promote local cultural and educational initiatives. The co-design process addressed an ambitious goal, identified as a priority by the pedagogical representatives of the City of Turin: the development of tools capable of strengthening vertical continuity between schools and the local territory.

Specifically, there was a need to create educational media aimed at children (aged 3 to 10) designed to prepare class groups for visits and workshops offered by the city’s educational centres. Neuroscientific research highlights the importance of supporting predictive processes and managing students' expectations in educational activities. At the same time, the project recognized the value of producing documentation to support the dissemination and implementation of practices proposed within the municipality’s laboratories.

The overarching aim was to rethink these educational pathways, integrating them more fully into school curricula and freeing them from the risk of becoming functional yet temporary experiential islands, detached from a comprehensive vision of the educational offerings addressed to children.

Starting from these objectives, the co-design process led to the development of content production formats that are sustainable with respect to the skills and economic and technological resources of cultural organizations. It also resulted in guidelines for producing digital content intended for the public communication of local educational services.

The co-design focused both on the use of online video to present educational activities (digital video storytelling) and on audiovisual documentation as a tool to explore the methodologies and approaches underpinning these educational proposals, thus supporting the replicability of experiences in new contexts.

The results of the project were disseminated through a platform developed by INDIRE in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Merit, called La Biblioteca dell’Innovazione (The Innovation Library). This online space is dedicated to promoting the dissemination of good educational practices and fostering a culture of educational documentation. The Innovation Library integrated the project outcomes not only by promoting the digital content produced but also by incorporating the recommendations regarding the expressive and linguistic solutions developed throughout the project into its own cultural framework.

Keywords: Education, digital language, storytelling, territory.