Storytelling Overview Workshop for Heart & Soul Communities

Planning a Heart & Soul Storytelling Project An Overview April 6, 2009 Digital Explorations for Orton Family Foundation

Map Your Connection An Exercise in Storytelling

Why Storytelling? "There is no change greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Meg Wheatley "Stories of place do not simply mirror reality; they are subjective accounts of personal interaction with, and perceptions of, the environment, society and economy. It is these interactions and perceptions that indicate past and present sustainable or unsustainable relationships , and thus provide the basis and means for analysis of future sustainable directions of change . The many and diverse regional stories must be told and listened to before they can be weaved and transformed into a new regional story , and before a region can imagine a new and sustainable way into the future. Realising and celebrating a sense of place encourages active citizenship and builds social capital , which is essential for the sustainability of a region, and provides a secure foundation for approaching the future. It could also be a powerful vehicle for reconciliation , with differing groups realising that they are linked by the same sense of concern for and attachment to a region. " K. Longley, 2002, Stories for Sustainability, Sustainability Forum, Perth

What Can Stories & Storytelling Do for Us? Bonding & Bridging *Engaging community *Reconciling rifts *Creating sense of belonging Transmission of Culture *Lessons of the past *Realities of the present *Hopes for the future Refer also to Orton’s Document: Why Storytelling?

Bonding & Bridging Engaging the Community

Top Diagram from A Storytelling Model of Civic Engagement in a Multiethnic Urban Space Yong-Chan Kim http://tinyurl.com/c2mztu

The Story Spiral

Gathering Information: Community Values & How to Act on Them

Do the stories reveal: what we should let go of? what we should hold onto? what we should add? Asking good questions

Sense of Place Physical Built environment Natural environments Geography Climate Natural resources Non-physical Character History Cultural heritage Spirituality Heart & Soul

(Mapping of Community & Setting of H & Soul goals completed; Storytelling Options matched; Storytelling Capacity matched)

Challenges!

Outreach: Engaging the Full Community Locating & Engaging the Hubs Matching story type & scenario to least likely participants

Moving beyond the past

Clear & Precise Articulation of Values, Themes & Issues Language

Active Participation Is anyone listening? Volunteer Burn-out Who is helping? Vs.

Thorny Issues Original Photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattpettengill/2880947744/ Uncomfortable Disruptive Finding Common Ground

The Importance of an Inclusive Process From Glasgow’s Imagining the Future of the City http://www.demos.co.uk/themes/~community/view//pg/2 From a Workshop at Woods Hole http://www.greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=268

Map & Set Goals Consider Story Options: how they match community & goals Get Realistic about Resources & Capacity Plan Waves: Moving from bonding to harvesting to active civic participation The Four Phases

Hour Two: Story Options Scenario where & who & when Media matching type to goals, sharers & resources

Scenario See wiki pages on neighborhood events & story ideas

Storytelling Options Individual Alone “ My Story” One-on-One: “ My story/Her story” Story Circle: “ Our story/stories” WHO WHAT WHY HOW Personal Experience Perspective Insight To give story holder ownership To invite free-flow All media & forms P:Community Almanac Newspapers, bulletin boards,etc. Audio Interviews Digital Stories Written Stories P: All publishing outlets & Layering of Interaction Values harvest To connect/bond To draw story out To make it easy on story holder & Group perspective Contrasting views Common ground Values-to-themes To bond & bridge To focus on the telling To celebrate in the moment & take action Neighborhood City-wide Collaborative Stories P: In-the-moment Collected on maps Co-creation Events: Mosaic & Facilitated Dialogue Value/Theme/Issue Harvest Hybrid events w/data To embed the stories Within the community To celebrate, to bridge To lead to action Theater Murals & Publications Podcast Tours & Kiosks

Text-based Stories

Newsletter

Community Almanac

Website/Blog/ wiki

Self-published book

Forum

Community displays: bulletin boards, etc.

Contests: essays, postcard stories

In combination with visual media & with public readings-

radio or live events

Minnesota http://ww2.startribune.com/news/variety/voices/flash/index.shtml Vermont Young Writers Project http://youngwritersproject.org/

Community Almanac

www.communityalmanac.org

Visual Stories

Visual artwork ( exhibitions , murals, posters, quilts etc)

Slide stories ( online or at events)

Postcards & ecards

Comics

Calendars

Installations

Murals

Vancouver

http://www.cacv.ca/pages/mural.html

Face Up: North Carolina

http://cds.aas.duke.edu/faceup/

Exhibitions: Online and In Town

Minnesota

http://www.mnhs.org/exhibits/lakestreet/

Alaska: Making films & screening them

Audio Stories

Personal narratives

Interviews/oral histories

Story circles

Audio theater stories

Story booths & events

Story tours

Story klatches

Community Almanac

Community radio

Combined with visual media

Story Tours

Murmur Project http://murmurtoronto.ca/

ArtMobs http://mod.blogs.com/art_mobs/ JHKunstler’s Walking Tour of Paris http://kunstlercast.com/shows/KunstlerCast_56_Virtual_Tour_Paris.html

Multimedia Stories Voicethread ; Soundslide ; Collage ; Digital Stories; Hypertext

Digital Stories & Maps Online Tours

Alberta Community Walk http://www.communitywalk.com/calgary/alberta/my_first_neighborhood/map/140666

Ukiah PlaceMeant

http://www.storymapping.org/placemeant.html

Youth Engagement

Skowhegan, Maine

http://www.msad54.org/district/placedbaseded/index.shtml

Voices: Arizona Youth

http://www.voicesinc.org/

City-wide Story Circles

Using Stories in Facilitated Dialogue Events Meadowlark Institute

Hour Three: Trying it Out

Using role play, harvesting techniques and facilitated dialogue, we’ll explore storytelling as an effective means of bringing people together to share stories, to harvest values, and to thread them into dialogue about the future of the community. A. Story Circle Role Play : Victor Map and Story Hotspots Four participants (preferably four with little or no experience with story circles) will share 2-minute stories about a place on the map that they associate with stories. B. Value Harvest Exercise : What did you hear? Stickies and Wordle. C. Deepening the Harvest Exercise : Relationships, themes and Issues-- Clustering and Sunray charts D. Finding the Issue for a Facilitated Dialogue : Using a simple matrix , we’ll sort the issues, and select one to engage with in a short facilitated dialogue. Story Circles Plus

Harvesting Values

First Round:Stickie Notes & Wordle

Second Round: Grouping & Getting Specific

Third Round: Selecting an Issue & Having a Facilitated Dialogue

Sorting the Issues actionable disruptive urgent less pressing

HOUR FOUR: PLANNING

Mapping Informal & Formal Groups, Identities , Storytelling Capacity

Matching Map to Goals

Other Heart & Soul Approaches

Planning the Waves

Questions? Check the Envision Victor Storytelling Wiki http://envisionvictorstorytelling.pbwiki.com/ Or Contact Us at Digital Explorations : Barbara [email_address] Remy [email_address]