Narrative, Framing & Story-based Strategy Training
We witness the power of narrative and story on a daily basis. Division and hatred are spread by the press and sometimes politicians. The issues of the day are quickly framed on social media. Historical stories provide deep undercurrents of understanding of our national and global psyches. And, within this ecosystem, our movements are also telling stories of need and despair, hope and change. But how can we be sure that the stories we are telling—the way we are communicating the issues we care about—are effective? How do we know that they are catching people’s attention, engaging, motivating, building our movements for change, and ultimately creating change?
In April, two of our volunteers, Maria and Mina, had the opportunity to attend a 7-day communications training held in a small Catalonian town in the mountains. Organised by Ulex, in collaboration with the Public Interest Research Centre (PIRC), the training brought together 40 participants from across Europe who campaign for different causes – from ensuring accessibility for disabled people in society to LGBTQI rights, and of course, climate justice.
Focusing on the role of framing climate justice, the forceful speed with which environmental degradation happens in Malta has become exhausting. Endless news headlines tell a story of an almost daily siege against the natural environment which can lead to impromptu reactionary campaigns being led in haste, with little time to plan an effective communications strategy.
The training offered a communications crash course, which was designed as an experiential taster to try out the 5 essential steps to building an effective communications strategy which harnesses narrative power. This enabled Maria and Mina to gain a practical understanding of framing and narrative, skills in participatory narrative development, tools to analyse the narrative landscape around an issue and methodologies for creating and testing communications. They have now developed a new vision, understand the narrative landscape, and created and tested new routes through this landscape, which will help them as individuals and Friends of the Earth Malta to continue our work in the field.
Become a volunteer to benefit from training experiences such as this one! Visit our volunteer page here.
This project falls under KA121 – Accredited projects for mobility of learners and staff in school education, vocational education and training, and adult education Index
