Storytelling for Change – Grassroots Digital Hub

…Disruption and loss of physical space was isolating for community and gathering online supported mental health and created a sense of community

– Participant 78

Storytelling for Change

Quote

The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimetre, the way . . . people look at reality, then you can change it.
James Balwin
(BeautifulTrouble.org)

1. We are all Storytellers
From the time we are children we learn about morals and values through stories
and fables. Stories help us understand the world and our role in it. Stories
connect with our emotions and inspire us to take action.

2. Stories Build Community
As grassroots leaders, we can share our stories to:
• Build relationships
• Inspire action
• Make connection
• Mobilize people
• Encourage others

3. Your Public Story
Every story has its challenges. The choice you make in response and the result of that choice all make you who you are.

Use this model when sharing your Public Story of Self in order to inspire others.

You want others to connect with you and see their possibilities in your story.

Sharing your public story can move others from self-doubt to self-empowerment, from apathy to action, from fear to hope and from isolation to solidarity

4. Lived Experience Inspires Solidarity
Everybody’s story counts. Shared solidarity means coming together through our stories of challenge and inspiration to define the “Story of Us”.

When we come together, we find our common values and morals - our similarities - despite our differences. These similarities help us unite through our experiences to write the “Story of Now” which is the current challenge we are facing.

5. Connecting and Motivating Action
In order to bring about social change, people must come together to recognize shared challenges, figure out solutions to those challenges, identify allies and enemies, and build the relationships needed to apply pressure and win. Connecting to each other through stories builds trust and strength in numbers.

Download this infographic

An example of storytelling for change

Bee Lee, Local Champions Network Member, uses her powerful personal story to make a budget deputation at Toronto City Hall in 2016. Eventually almost all of her recommendations were adopted by City Council. Watch this clip of her testimony.

More resources

Cover of Public Narrative Participation Guide

This workshop participant guide for the Story of Self technique is from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) based in the States. The Story of Self model was originally created by Marshall Ganz and encourages people to use their own personal stories to motivate others to take social action.

Re-Imagining Change: How to Use Story-Based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World, Doyle Canning and Patrick Reinsborough, 2017, 2nd Edition.
Narrative Arts provides Storytelling and Social Change: A Strategy Guide Working Narratives.
Download Vision, Values and Voice: A Social Justice Communications Toolkit from The Opportunity Agenda.
Storytelling Tactic from Beautiful Trouble.
INDIGITAL Storytelling supports Indigenous Peoples and communities to use digital storytelling to promote spaces for listening and sharing stories from their worldview.
The Transformation Storytelling Fellowship is an initiative under Community Foundations of Canada’s Transformation work. Its purpose is to mobilize young people to bring an equitable and inter-generational lens into storytelling, with the goal of enabling systems transformation.
The StoryBridge Network is a community-driven nonprofit that uses storytelling, expressive arts, and dialogue to strengthen mental well-being, cultural understanding, and social connection.

Chalk drawing with the words "Woburn, Our Home, Our Community"