📢 Narrative & Culture Change Roundup #35
How’s it going one and all?
I’m sending this newsletter to you after getting back from a lovely few days in Rye (the type of quaint English town that’s always depicted in period dramas). Every year I take a few days away by myself to reflect, re-calibrate, read and reconnect with what I love about the stuff I do and to dream up some new projects I’d like to help bring to life.
You can see more about the projects that I’m currently mulling over here and do reach out if you might fancy doing some mulling on them with me. I’d love to find some people who might like to partner up in getting them going.
In other news, the beginning of last week saw Common Cause (the organisation I work for) launch its brand new website. Do check it out to read more about the deep narrative work we get up to.
Let’s jump in shall we?
Ruth x
p.s. Oops - one more thing! You may remember that the last In Other Words included links that had been suggested by others (specifically, members of the ). It dawned on me that this should be a standard feature, so from now on, if you ever stumble across (or produce yourself) something that you think would have a home in In Other Words, let me know by completing this form.
THE LINKS
Articles, reports & podcasts.
Pinched from Ian Dunt’s twitter feed
Immigration: A changing debate The folks at British Future have analysed a bunch of new findings from the Ipsos MORI immigration attitudes tracker survey, which has found that attitudes towards immigration have softened significantly over the last seven years (they were starting from a very low place, mind!). The findings suggest that those involved in migrant and refugee rights work can take some courage from the direction we’re currently going in! [British Future]
Imagine 2020: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors Check out these incredible stories from the Fix contest, looking for brilliant short stories which help us to envision the next 180 years of equitable climate progress. Some (hopeful) bed time reading for a change! [Grist]
Visualising Climate Change The 'Visualising Climate Change' Project is live! Check out the 100 photographs showcasing climate solutions selected from submissions from across the world. The images are freely available to use when communicating on the climate. [Climate Visuals]
Start a conversation on climate change An interesting new tool from Reboot the Future to support people to talk about climate change with their friends and family. I love the concept, but I do wish it went a little further in its advocacy (not just small steps please!). Would love to know what people make of this. Are we perhaps seeing a budding new field of narrative activism? [Reboot the Conversation]
Why Intersectional Stories Are Key to Helping the Communities We Serve An analysis of how stories can help us understand systemic injustices, with reference to numerous cultural projects that have done this well. It’s great to see story becoming a central part of the activist lexicon and leaves me wondering if the next frontier of narrative change work is to better understand how to create a fertile soil in which well-crafted stores can land and embed… [SSIR]
Reporting on Migrants and Refugees: Handbook for Journalism Educators One for all the journalists in your life, this new UNESCO handbook includes 13 modules to strengthen coverage on migration and aid a more balanced and informed public debate across countries and cultures. [UNESCO]
How does media control the climate change narrative? Join Clover Hogan from Force of Nature as she talks to guests about the role of mainstream media in tackling climate change. I didn’t agree with everything the interviewees said (especially the use of economic arguments for climate change mitigation), but I do really rate the work of Force of Nature and agree that the alarm bell has well and truly been sounded on climate change and now it’s time to start - as one interviewee put it - ‘pointing people towards the exits’. [Apple Podcasts]
‘Purpose and power’: meet 10 BIPOC adventurers challenging ideals of who belongs in the outdoors Some beautiful storytelling in this article challenging the narrative that exists around who can access and enjoy nature. [The Narwhal]
The Race Class Narrative Can Win In this short and snappy piece, Anika Fassia and Tinselyn Simms, the co-directors of We Make the Future Action, run through how the race class narrative works and gives some examples of it in practice. [Dissent Magazine]
Narrative Organising: How we shift power towards justice Everything Rachel Weidinger writes is rich and beautiful and this piece for the Narrative Initiative is no different! Jump in and let her talk you through why narrative organising is a vital component of narrative change. This line was particularly resonate for me: "Narrative organizing provides ways to hold power in relationship to our values. In other words, narratives ground and contain the stories that let movement change make sense to people." Great stuff! [Narrative Initiative]
No Time to Die: the problem with Bond villains having facial disfigurements Jessica Gibson reflects on the harm perpetuated by the outdated Hollywood trope of villains with facial disfigurements or physical impairments. [The Conversation]
Squid Game & The Rise of Anti-Capitalist Entertainment I think I’ve just about recovered after watching Squid Game and found this piece really interesting, assessing whether as a show it merely describes the stresses of living under late-stage capitalism, or whether it can help us pave away to an alternative way of being. [Refinery 29]
The Activist, and why we must consider the cultural footprint of our work Written by yours truly, this blog reflects on what we as civil society actors might be able to learn from the very short-lived reality TV show, The Activist. [Common Cause Foundation]
Living our multi-issue lives Also on the Common Cause blog, my colleague Tom Crompton, has written this short piece on how an understanding of shared values could transform the ways we compartmentalise social and environmental issues. [Common Cause Foundation]
Communicating the Social Impacts of AI with Nat Kendall-Taylor Learn more about the work of the FrameWorks Institute from its Director on this podcast, and here about what they’ve learnt when they’ve considered ways to communicate about AI [Response-ability]
How to build a transformative narrative? Annie Neimand, Research Director of the Centre for Public Interest Communications at the University of Florida, in this interview for Raccords, suggests five principles that organisations should consider when attempting to engage the public in their cause. I disagree with Annie on principle number 1, that organisations need to match the values that they assume their audiences hold, for reasons you can see here and here, but overall this is a handy summary of some key strategic communications approaches. [Maison de l’innovation sociale]
Twitter post by Crisis UK To mark #WorldHomelessDay, Crisis UK did a short series of images explaining why the language we use to talk about homelessness is so important. I’d love to see more posts like this on a host of different issue areas! [twitter]
Changing the Story on Disability? A recording of an online event hosted by the LSE hearing from people who are working to shift the narrative around disability. [YouTube]
Mapping the landscape: how to talk about systems change in Aotearoa, New Zealand This new report from The Workshop and partners offers a series of seven recommendations on how to talk about systems change in ways that grows public support for numerous causes. [The Workshop]
UPCOMING EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Things for the calendar.Â
Online Book Launch: A Future Untold by Alina Siegfried
I featured Alina’s brilliant spoken word poem in the newsletter last week and mentioned that she had recently written a book. Well, that book will be made available to the world on the 28th October and Alina is hosting two online book launches to accommodate people on different sides of the planet. Check out the link for more info.
Bridging Differences
A new, free online course from UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) where you can learn research-based strategies to help bridge divides and navigate conflict.
Requires approximately 3 - 4 hours a week for 10 weeks
Free
2022 Culture & Narrative Fellowship: Call for Applications
The Opportunity Agenda has launched its 2022 Culture and Narrative Fellowship, open to US based artists and cultural strategists whose work seeks to reimagine cultural realities and rewrite dominant narratives around economic justice. The fellowship is for 6 months and all successful fellows receive a $15k aware to put towards their project.
Deadline to apply is 10th November.
*Â Job klaxon * Apply to join the Narrative Initiative team as their Content Director
The narrative initiative are looking for someone shit hot on content across multiple channels and in multiple formats. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis, but the deadline to apply is the 15th November. Check out the link for more info.
* Job klaxon * Apply to join the Narrative Initiative team as their Network Weaver
An AMAZING sounding job for someone who excels at connecting people and causes for narrative change. Must be US based. Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis, but the deadline to apply is the 15th November. Check out the link for more info.
Changemaker Authors Cohort
The Narrative Initiative have joined forces with the Unicorn Authors Club to offer a yearlong intensive coaching programme to full-time activists and social justice organisers that want to work on a book idea that will in some way shift narratives.
Applications are due on 20th November.
Green Stories writing competitions
Fancy having a go at writing a story that showcases what a sustainable society might look like? Check out these competitions by Green Stories and dust the typewriter off (I assume this is what all fiction writers still use…)
Submission deadline: 30th December
Words to Live By
Clever people saying clever things.