Newsletter #29
Comprehending fascism | Beyond polarisation | Strategy upgrade
Hi everyone,
We do this work because we know that words and stories are powerful, and the past weeks have been a painful reminder of this power.
The recent Islamophobic, anti-migrant, racist violence in the UK has been encouraged by politicians, media and power-holders, using deceptive language and potent storytelling to create scapegoats that distract from their role in worsening poverty and inequality.
The vast majority of people oppose this violence and the sentiment and rhetoric that fuels it.
We are encouraged and inspired by the ways this majority has come together to respond to the violence, in a spirit of community and care.
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If you’d like support on how to communicate about this, see NEON’s guide. For suggestions of further action to take, see this compilation.
If you are working in or working to pressure government, see this suggestion to invite and celebrate some of those working to rebuild, to help spread these stories of the majority further, and counter the dangerously limited ‘Strong Man Clampdown’ response.
And whatever organisation you are part of, here and here are some helpful suggestions for how to support your colleagues.
Shared in solidarity,
Shares
Key: 📝 Article | 🎬 Film | 🎙️ Podcast | 📢 Campaign | 📋 Report
Comprehending Fascism In Our Times
Lisa Lowe; Verso Books
One of three reflections (also see, and) on Alberto Toscano’s Late Fascism, which offers ”the historical and political philosophical means” to understand fascism today, by coming to terms with its long-term presence. “Since available political languages are so saturated by liberal political claims and logics, they often veil and obstruct understanding of the ‘political present.’ They contribute to the misrecognition of ‘fascism’ as spectacular and exceptional, rather than as integral to the modern marriage of liberal democracy with capitalism…this misrecognition is a primary obstacle to effectively understanding, organizing, and struggling against the multiple contradictions of our political present.”
#deepnarrative #tactics
Moving Beyond Polarisation in Service of Life
The Great Simplification
“There’s a growing understanding of the need for biodiversity across ecosystems for a healthy and resilient biosphere. What if we applied the same principles to the way we communicate and use language to relate to each other and the world?” A discussion with Nora Bateson, Rex Weyler, Vanessa Andreotti, and Daniel Schmachtenberger on the ecology of communication, which “addresses some of the traps and pitfalls of modern relating, including the use of increasingly performative language and the erosion of authentic connection, both of which can leave us feeling isolated from one another,” enquiring about how to “shift from this axis of polarization into a space of mutual learning together.”
#deepnarrative #tactics
🎬 See here
What Is Strategy?
Maria Poblet, Alex Hertel-Fernandez; Practical Radicals
“Progressives need a strategy upgrade, and this episode points the way.” Sometimes it can be helpful to get back to basics; it’s often surprising to find what’s been left behind. So even if you’re already well-versed in the approaches and examples of social change strategy, from ‘conjunctural analysis’ and the right-wing approach, to ‘reverse engineering’, this is worth a listen. Also see a further thirty-six strategic tools in the book Practical Radicals (if you liked The Death of Deliverism, it shares an author).
#narrativestrategy #tactics
🎙️ Listen here
What Does More Propositional Storytelling Look Like?
Matt Golding; Rubber Republic
Early “rough and raw” tests of films that explore the possibility of “propositional storytelling” – which center other possibilities and community action in stories of the “growing numbers of people coming together to challenge (our) seeming descent into oblivion, with innovative and potentially transformative ideas and projects – from collective energy to agroecology to shared ownership and new economic models.” As Matt says, “these aren’t final films… but they should convey a tone / approach, and feedback is very welcome!”
#narrativestrategy #stories
📝 See here
These Guys Are Weirdos
Won’t Pac Down
A new strategy from the Democrats sees them embracing emotions and “vibes” to win the US election in November. Kamala Harris’s new running mate Tim Walz was the first to describe the Trump/Vance/Project 2025 Republican elite as “weirdos”, hoping to win over the ‘persuadable middle’ by positioning the Project 2025 policy platform as invasive and creepy. In doing so the Democrats seem to be joining in the effort to reclaim ‘freedom’ from the right with a more inclusive narrative. See this thread for thoughts on why the ‘weird’ strategy might work.
#narrativestrategy #tactics
📢 See here
Development In Progress
The Consilience Project
“This article explains how our current idea of progress is immature: it is developmentally incomplete. Progress, as we define it now, ignores or downplays the scale of its side effects. Our typical approach to technological innovation today harms much that is not only beautiful and inspiring, but also fundamentally necessary for the health and well-being of all life on Earth. Developing a more mature approach to our idea of progress holds the key to a viable, long-term future for humanity”, questioning “the accuracy, incentives, and risks of this narrative, examining the reasons that the idea has held such a central role in shaping the development of our global civilization”. Listen here for an overview.
#deepnarrative
The New Parliament’s Climate Story
Climate Outreach
“As the new government begins work – what should its climate story be? Whether you work in the public, private or non-profit sectors this guide can help you communicate on climate. The next five years are critical for people and climate action. From insulating homes to building pylons, progress depends on people feeling like change is good news for them and the people and places they care about. People want climate leadership. Here’s how to talk about it.” Also see a recording of the launch webinar.
#narrativestrategy
The Climate Stories We Need
Lucy Stone; Climate Spring
The climate crisis was included in only 12.8% of recent top-grossing Hollywood films, partly because the people making them don’t know how to include it. This guide offers a practical reflection on how “to tell this daunting story of our time in a way that isn’t too didactic or scientific, doesn’t overload with misery, and - most importantly - that audiences want and engage with. This storytelling guide sets out Climate Spring’s insights into the climate stories we need at this time and how our industry can come together to shift climate narratives from apocalypse to regeneration. In doing so we can collectively unblock the public and political agency on the climate and nature crisis.”
#narrativestrategy #stories
The Role of Imagination in the Time of Collapse
Alixa García; JRF Imagination Infrastructure 2024
The keynote speech from the latest round of JRF’s Imagination Infrastructure sessions, exploring ”the intrinsic connection between the body, the climate, and the burgeoning worlds emerging in the outer bounds of modernity,” a meditation on “wholeness”, asking us to “gather together, as we fall together, at the threshold between worlds”. Alixa, who curated the sessions, helps people “realize their potential in the areas of creative blueprinting, trans-local and global organizing, and environmental education. Her unique approach centralizes creativity and the role of imagination as an essential tool for liberation.” See the full playlist of recordings here.
#deepnarrative #tactics
🎬 See here
Jobs & Courses
Key: 💼 Job | 🎓 Course
Producer
AKO Storytelling Institute
4 days / full-time | London / hybrid | Deadline: 15th August
“As a Producer for the AKO Storytelling Institute, you will be at the helm of our diverse range of activities, from conceptualisation to delivery. Your role is pivotal in programming and producing events, labs, courses, and our prestigious Fellowship programme. By effectively managing these initiatives, you will help us explore and amplify the profound links between storytelling and societal change. Collaboration is key, and you will work closely with our team, fellows, and external partners to ensure every event meets the highest standards of quality and creativity. Your expertise in production and communication will be crucial in conveying our message to a wide array of audiences.”
Communications Manager (Maternity Cover)
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch
1 year fixed-term | London / hybrid | Deadline: 16th August
“The Communications Manager will work with colleagues in the UK and Portugal to strategise and deliver impactful communications and partnership activities, with a focus on our international ‘Climate and Ocean’ and ‘Access to Culture’ grant-making programmes.”
Executive Director (CommsHub)
The Meliore Foundation
Full-time, Remote | Deadline: 21st August
“This position is with CommsHub, a new initiative to directly resource and upskill the global climate ecosystem to pursue strategic communications and public engagement at the scale and sophistication required to ensure media narratives, public opinion and governmental decision-making reflect accurate appraisals of climate science. We're looking for an Executive Director, who will function as a philanthropic leader with primary responsibilities including attracting new charitable funders and fundraising for pooled and aligned funding, convening collaborative efforts among funders, field leaders and practitioners, shaping effective field strategies and investments, building and directing a team of high-level specialists, and expanding the landscape, all while consistently prioritizing equity in approach.”
Impact Fellowship training programme
AKO Storytelling Institute
Nov 2024 to Jun 2025 | Deadline: 5th Sept
“This year we are offering up to eight fellows a free training programme in impact production. Fellows will learn the skills of impact production, routes to impact and develop impact plans and campaigns for their projects. Impact Production is a profession and set of skills that has developed over the last 18 years, out of the work of DocSociety and their Impact Field Guide. Originally developed for documentary producers this practice is being used in other genres such as XR, theatre and writing. This programme takes the training of impact production into a wider range of disciplines including TV, fiction film, novels, non-fiction writing, journalism, theatre, XR/immersive/interactive, games and audio/podcasts, animation, comic books and creative documentaries and docufiction.”
Quotes
(This selection of quotes is intended as a resource, in the hope that they may be useful for your own communications.)
“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be." – Pablo Servigne
“It would be a healthier nation if you accepted that the British Empire was the single most influential incubator, refiner and propagator of white supremacy in the history of the planet.” – Sathnam Sanghera
"The world is changed through love, patience, enthusiasm, respect, courage, humility, and living life in balance." – Vanessa Andreotti
“If we are to live audaciously, we need to step into the calm eye of the storm and steer by the stars, to imagine in rich detail the biggest, most delicious, satisfying, inclusive future that we can.” – Aurora Levins Morales
“Change happens at the speed of relationships” – Jennifer Bailey
Thanks for joining us, see you here again in two weeks.
A reminder that if you have something that you’d love to see in these newsletters, or work you’d like to share in the community sessions, or if you have any feedback, please reach out at inter-narratives@greenfunders.org
Very best,
Paddy & Ella