Hi everyone,
We hope you’re finding your way gently into this already-intense year, or still hibernating and wintering if you’re able to.
In a couple of weeks we have our first session of the year, which Amahra Spence has curated to explore the connections between infrastructure and narrative (full details below).
In the meantime, here are our usual shares – please note a couple of imminent deadlines in the final section on jobs and courses.
Our thoughts today are with the people of LA – for ways to support them, see here and here; and our thoughts are still with the people of Gaza – for ways to support them, see here.
Shared in solidarity
Public session
Hood Futures
Amahra Spence and Nabil Al-Kinani
Jan 30th | 12:00-13:30 GMT | Online
In this conversation, Nabil and Amahra will explore the connections between infrastructure and narrative. This vital element of narrative power is often overlooked in traditional communications work. The discussion will be grounded in the manifesto 'Privatise the Mandem' and its follow up text 'To Free the Ends' and will speculate on a Hood Commons. Thinking about infrastructures that centre narratives, land and resources as tools for community self-determination and sovereignty, they will explore how a robust analysis of class and spatial politics can have practical implications for regenerative hood futures.
Shares
Key: ⚙️ Tool | 📝 Article | 📋 Report | 🎙️ Podcast
How To Measure Narrative Change
Yewande O. Addie, David Hanson, Emily Melnick, Melody Mohebi, Annie Neimand; Rad Comms
The recording of a workshop offering a roadmap (25:00) and set of principles (56:00) to guide the measurement of narrative change work. “Whether working on a piece of art, a campaign, or power-building in local communities, narrative organizers are always exploring ways to measure the impact of their work. In this session, narrative change and evaluation experts share a radical, values-aligned framework that narrative practitioners and movement workers can use to measure narrative change.” Provides a full overview of a how to craft a narrative change evaluation strategy, as well as a reflection on frequently asked questions. Also see.
#narrativestrategy
⚙️ See here
Beyond The Broadcasting Model
Sean Gibbons, Tristan Mohabir; SSIR
“Foundations and nonprofits need to focus on community building rather than just pushing messages to an audience (or to that awful, imprecise word that ought to be banished to the jargon jar, “stakeholders”). It’s about engaging real people in meaningful ways to foster support and collaboration, which requires investing in genuine relationships and building sustainable communities based on shared values…This means moving away from mass messaging and toward face-to-face connections – listening, collaborating, and forming real partnerships… Trust is the foundation of communication, and in the field of communications-for-good, cultivating trust isn’t optional, it’s essential… Ultimately, the shift from broadcasting to relationship-building is more than just a tactical change. It’s a recalibration, driven by data and the evolving expectations of the communities we serve…we’d do well to remember that communication and community are inseparable and evolved from that common root.”
#narrativestrategy #messaging #tactics
Passing in the Dark: Making Visible Philanthropy’s Hidden and Conflicting Mental Models for Systems Change
Jewlya Lynn, Julia Coffman; The Foundation Review, Center for Evaluation Innovation
“The increasing focus on systems change has been a paradigm shift, fundamentally affecting how foundations approach social change, their underlying assumptions, and their ideas about the predictability of change… This perspective has required changes in philanthropic practices and led foundations to see themselves as actors in, and influencers of, systems… But as strategists and evaluators, we see many foundations ignoring some basic truths.” The authors propose that there are two mental models of systems change at play: ‘Systems Dynamics’ (familiar, predictable) and ‘Systems Emergence’ (unfamiliar, experimental), which they explore by outlining examples of strategies that use each one, offering tools for making them practical. They conclude that “neither of the systems-change mental models is inherently better,” but “if we do not make our models visible and align our practices to them, then unintentional disconnects will occur and our work will suffer.”
#deepnarrative #tactics
The Populist Manifesto
Waleed Shahid; The.Ink (paywall)
Shahid presents a deep assessment of the “zero-sum gridlock of two party politics” in the US, and offers a thorough plan for what the Democrats need to become next (could be a lesson for Labour too). “The Democratic Party has become trapped in a politics dominated by the upper middle class, where fighting for democracy and combating bigotry are framed more as moral performances of negative partisanship than as paths to real change… What remains is a politics of performative gestures and timid incrementalism – actions designed to placate elite donors and upper-middle-class voters while sidelining the working class and marginalised communities in the name of respectability… If Democrats want to reclaim their position as the party of working people, they need to stop hedging and start confronting the power structures that define inequality… To govern in the people’s interest, you first have to be willing to take on those who profit from their suffering… The next DNC Chair must rebuild the party around a simple idea: Democrats win when they are the party of working-class people of all backgrounds.” Also see.
#tactics
In Praise of Collective Joy
Biz; Comic Relief, Counterpoints Arts
Reflections from Counterpoints Arts biannual ‘Pop Culture & Social Change’ retreat at Dartington, which speak to the importance of collaboration and relationship-building, “because the work we do is interrelated and needs to be done through understanding what we all bring to our coalition.” A coalition which “cannot rely on one perfectly crafted, targeted, cultural intervention – there will be no single story, song, speech or screening that changes the course of history. The struggle will be long and arduous, and a 'popular front' is needed. Since the Community Council first met at the start of this year, we wished for our networks to get to know each other better, and Dartington felt like a great step towards mapping our convergences. Whether we look back at the retreat as a mere moment in time or the beginning of collective change remains to be seen, but we can hope that our interactions there may yet create lasting legacies.”
#tactics
Changing Migration Narratives with Stories of Food, Kindness and Humanity
Thomas Coombes, Christina MacGillivray, Genevieve Sauberli; Hope-based Communication
A review of the #StandUp4Migrants campaign, which has been running in Malaysia, Australia and India, including various tools and other resources that could be useful elsewhere. By blending traditional advocacy outreach with practical community engagement and bridge-building, focusing on “bringing migrants and locals together around shared values and interests to find common ground,” the campaign was able to foster the conditions for mindset-shift, orienting people towards an appreciation of common humanity. “What comes up constantly in hope-based workshops with migration activists is the need to talk about the things that make us all human: universal experiences like food, music and culture and the beautiful transformation that happens to open societies.”
#narrativestrategy
⚙️ Read here
How We Should be Reporting Climate Target Setbacks
Jasmin Souesi, Tara Bryer; Climate Outreach
“Solutions journalism, better known in Europe as constructive journalism, is bolstered by newsroom data that shows audiences respond better to climate stories that illustrate human ingenuity, courage, and drive. These human stories largely make up the kind of news that most people actually care to consume… If we want to avoid audiences turning away from climate conversations, we need to invest in people-centred stories that we know audiences like because they find them more immediately relevant and relatable to their own lives… In practice it means reporting on how communities are finding it harder to live in healthy and fair ways, but also what people from all walks of life and all sectors are doing to fight for that sustainable future… We need to hear the human stories of the energy transition. What is working and what isn’t, how entrepreneurs, small businesses and corporations are changing their practices in recognition of the fact that British people care so deeply about climate and nature.” See an example of this kind of storytelling here.
#messaging
The 48 Laws Of Power
If Books Could Kill
An amusing critique of the infamous ‘autocracy-for-dummies’ manual, reportedly a favourite of Trump, Musk, Bannon, Putin etc., and how it came to be written. The cynicism that produced and pervades it is alarmingly cold-hearted, and includes advice like: “You must first attract attention. This you should do not through actions which are too clear and readable but through words which are hazy and deceptive. You must include two elements: on the one hand the promise of something great and transformative and on the other a total vagueness.” It is underpinned by ‘zero-sum ideology’ – the mistaken view that humans and the rest of nature evolve through conflict rather than mutual aid. This, the hosts argue, reflects and encourages the “uniquely American phenomenon that a lot of people view the world so adversarially that they are willing to forego helping people as long as that ensures that they can't be taken advantage of in some way.”
#insight #deepnarrative #tactics
🎙️ Listen here
‘Capitalism’ Bonus: Live at Motorco
Scene On Radio
“Now what? Can we find hope and a way forward? In a live show taped December 5, 2024, at Motorco Music Hall in Durham, North Carolina, Season 7 co-hosts John Biewen and Ellen McGirt are joined by journalism professor, podcaster, and two-time Scene on Radio co-host Chenjerai Kumanyika. They discuss how to move toward a more democratic economy and society – with the live audience, and with Camryn Smith and Courtney Smith of Durham’s Communities in Partnership.” We hear about what it takes for ‘community-rooted’ action to be properly resourced, and are called to put trust and energy in the people on the front lines. “Literally, trust black women. Trust indigenous women. Trust women of color who are hard on the ground doing the work. Because we do 98% of the lion's share of the on the ground work, but we receive less than 3% of all philanthropic funding. Could you imagine what this nation would look like with us, properly supported, doing what we're doing now?”
#tactics #deepnarrative
🎙️ Listen here
Jobs & Courses
Key: 💼 Job | 🎓 Course
Landscape Review, Funder Mapping & Taxonomy of New Economy in Europe
Partners for a New Economy
Deadline: Jan 10th
“An innovative research and analysis project on the scale, shape and strength of the new economy field across Europe. In 2021, P4NE collaborated with Laudes Foundation on the commissioning and steering of a research report into the new economy landscape in Europe. The resulting report by Demos Helsinki “Turning the Tide: Landscape analysis of an emergent economic movement in Europe” was published at the start of 2022. Some 128 new economy actors were identified and analysed in terms of their approaches and levers for impact, and geographical spread. Unusually for a research report, this piece of work has since been much cited and shared, in the new economy field and beyond. Nearly three years on in a fast-moving field, it is time for an update.”
Summer Fellowship
Othering and Belonging Institute
Deadline: Jan 12th | Runs: May 14 to August 14 | Remote
“A paid research experience for individuals seeking to develop their research skills by engaging with the Institute’s multidisciplinary research, analysis, policy, and strategic narrative work. The purpose of the fellowship is to build the capacity and network of the next generation of researchers and community leaders who are committed to social and racial justice by providing mentorship and hands-on experience with social science research. In addition to working directly with their staff supervisor on an individual research project (see “Summer Projects” below), fellows engage as a cohort in weekly meetings or workshops on Institute frameworks, research methodologies, and contemporary social justice issues throughout the summer.”
Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity & Relational Accountability
Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures, University of Victoria
Deadline: Jan 23rd | Runs: Jan 18th - March 1st
Another chance to take the course that thoroughly and creatively expands on Vanessa Andreotti’s book ‘Hospicing Modernity’, and the work of the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures collective. “This six-week online intensive course offers tools to help participants confront systemic violence toward one another and the planet without resorting to quick fixes or feeling overwhelmed. Aimed at a general audience, this course serves as the foundation of our FHW suite of courses.”
We Will Dance With Mountains: VUNJA!
For The Wild, Dr. Bayo Akomolefe
Available for presale, sliding scale pricing
“For The Wild first spoke with Bayo in January of 2020, just before the world as we knew it would begin to fervently wind and unwind. We’ve cherished Bayo’s challenging thought process ever since, and know For The Wild listeners feel the same. If you’d like to delve deeper into Bayo’s work, we invite you to join Bayo Akomolafe and guests as they play with themes of grief, healing, white syncopation, the senses, musicality, and emergent cracks and edges. We are honoured to be able to house this course for our listeners and invite you to learn more about the course, cost, and accessibility below.”
Quotes
(This selection of quotes is intended as a resource, in the hope that they may be useful for your own communications. See a full list of all the previous quotes.)
“Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance.” –Robert Harris, Conclave
“Hope builds a bridge across the abyss into which reason cannot look. It can hear an undertone to which reason is deaf. Reason does not recognise the signs of what is coming, what is not yet born. Reason is an organ that detects what is already there.” – Byung-Chul Han
“Even a wounded world is feeding us. Even a wounded world holds us, giving us moments of wonder and joy. I choose joy over despair. Not because I have my head in the sand, but because joy is what the earth gives me daily and I must return the gift.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer
“There must exist a paradigm, a practical model for social change that includes an understanding of ways to transform consciousness that are linked to efforts to transform structures.” – bell hooks
“Sometimes artists are called on to make beautiful music with what is left.” – Itzhak Perlman
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