TECH TALES: Fairy tales with a twist for the children of the present
Ever wondered what happens when Aladdin dreams of becoming a fashion designer or the Little Mermaid becomes an advocate for climate action? These modern twists on classic fairy tales form the heart of TECH TALES, European Union-funded project that combines storytelling with the power of immersive technology and co-creation workshops to raise awareness about stigma and violence.
Rooted in creativity, empathy and new technology, TECH TALES invites children, artists, educators and psychologists to collaborate on a variety of exciting outcomes. Children across Europe will take part in co-creation workshops to reimagine fairy tales and create visual and audio materials that will be incorporated into interactive AR books, exhibitions, and audio tales in several languages. Collaborators such as illustrators, voice actors, writers and sign language interpreters will help bring these transformed stories to life in accessible formats, including sign language, to reach a wider audience.
The project will present an AR exhibition to have its premiere in Vienna at the Vienna Design Week in September 2026, followed by exhibitions in Barcelona, Cetinje and Wroclaw. Alongside these exhibitions, TECH TALES will also run digital literacy workshops for children and educators to deepen their understanding of AR and the role of technology in storytelling, involving more than 700 children and 40 educators.
Through a mix of immersive AR experiences, co-creation workshops and accessible storytelling in books, audio and mobile apps, TECH TALES aims to engage more than 250 000 people in a playful exploration of critical social issues, combining creative, hands-on and technologically enriched experiences.
This project isn’t just about fairy tales—it is about giving children the tools to express their ideas creatively, while addressing important social issues such as stigma and violence.
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.
For more information about TECH TALES, upcoming events and updates on the project, visit twistedtales.tv or follow us on social media @twistedtales.tv.
The photograph shows a moment captured from our Twisted Tales interactive experience, presented during ‘Prekretnica,’ the World Conference of Theater for Children and Youth in Novi Sad, Serbia, organized by the global Assitej network. The author of the photo is Jovana Semiz.