STORIES 4 CHANGE:

STORYTELLING
FOR ADVOCACY

Mugera Swabri| 24 January 2020 | SafeHands | Reproductive Health Uganda | Uganda

Our Stories 4 Change workshops engage young people to spark change in their communities. We do this by inspiring young people to document, take action and catalyse change.

By leveraging the power of storytelling for advocacy, participants build skills in communication and storytelling, participatory photography and community engagement. Stories 4 Change puts cameras into the hands of young people and helps develop digital literacy skills. Participants’ resulting photographs frame their lived experiences and demonstrations why change is needed.

Our Stories 4 Change workshops are a creative springboard for young people to take community action. Participants are supported to elevate their voices in local, national and global policy level-discussion. Our small-grants facility supports youth-led advocacy initiatives, taking skills and strategies developed at the workshop forward.

STORYTELLING AT THE HEART

We want young people to know – everyone is already a storyteller. Stories can compel and influence change around them. Drawing on SafeHands’ own expertise, the workshop engages young people to represent themselves and their own stories. Participants explore essential elements for communicating a powerful and compelling story with key audiences – their peers, adults, community leaders, and decision-makers. Participants reflect on the elements required to compel audiences with a range of emotions - from an optimistic view where SRHR for all exists to a sense of urgent action.

SafeHands | Shivan Kya | Big Picture Competition | Uganda | 2020

DIGITAL LITERACY & SKILLS

To create meaningful change, we need to close the digital gap. Stories 4 Change helps young people build the digital skills they need for the future. In line with UNESCO’s Basic Digital Skills and Competencies,* participants build digital skills through building online profiles, reviewing key elements in online safety, setting a secure password, developing digital photography skills and how to communicate across various digital platforms. Alongside digital photography, participants draft, edit and finalise text and captions to accompany their digital photography to convey a digital story.

*UNESCO Institute of Statistics. A Global Framework of Reference on Digital Literacy Skills for Indicator 4.4.2. Montreal: 2018. Available from: http://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/ip51-global-framework-reference-digital-literacy-skills-2018-en.pd

WHY STORYTELLING?

Stories are a compelling communication tool. People listen to stories more closely, remember stories better than facts alone.*

92% of consumers prefer information in the form of a story 
Stories are 22X more memorable than facts
Stories are tools of power and an effective tool to advocate for your ideas

*Discussion Guide - Power of Stories.pdf | Powered by Box, Stanford Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab.

SafeHands | Fortunate Kagumaho | Uganda | 2021

DESIGNED WITH AND FOR PARTICIPANTS

Young people’s voices inspire and inform our workshop. Using Human-Centred Design, Stories 4 Change workshop was developed with and for young people. By enhancing their communication and digital skills, our workshop invests in young people’s leadership to lead change in their communities, in an increasingly digital world. In partnership with Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU)and youth engagement experts Torchlight Collection, our workshop’s design was enhanced by meaningful youth engagement, consultation, and feedback.

YOUTH-LED ADVOCACY

Stories 4 Change is a creative springboard to engage young people’s visual voice beyond the workshop. The workshop culminates in a co-curated Community Exhibition for participants to exhibit their work and to generate discussion with community members. Our Stories 4 Change Small Grant Facility supports youth-led grassroots advocacy projects. Supported projects are led by workshop participants to use storytelling to generate community-discussion and engagement with local decision-makers. Workshop participants have also spearheaded digital campaigns on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter, engaging their peers with digital content on SRHR information.

SafeHands | Fortunate Kagumaho | Uganda | 2020

Stories 4 Change: Inspiring young people’s visual voice for change

As part of our Knowledge and Information on Safe Sex (KISS) project, young people are building their digital storytelling skills through our Stories 4 Change workshop series. Together with RHU, young people are guided through theme-specific workshops that focuses on SRHR themes - youth-friendly services, menstrual hygiene health and family planning. We continue to support participants as they their visual voice in community mobilisation, peer education and youth-led advocacy.

Learning from young people’s insights

“I learned how to capture moments that speak and spread a message of change to my community” said an anonymous young person who participated in our Stories 4 Change workshop. Our January 2020 workshop provided important insights into the barriers to youth-friendly SRHR services. This helped young people discuss with local decision-makers ways SRHR services could be more youth-friendly.

Midwives’ storytelling skills enhances antenatal care

As part of our Labour at the Last Mile project, midwives enhanced their storytelling skills through an adapted Stories 4 Change workshop. The low-tech workshop was adapted based on midwife requests to build communication skills. The workshop emphasises the role storytelling can play in building empathy and connections with clients during antenatal care. Working with the Amhara Regional Health Bureau, midwives improved their communication skills to foster greater rapport with women.

SafeHands | Nancy Durrell McKenna | Ethiopia | 2019

Storytelling builds stronger midwife-woman relationships

Midwives participating in our adapted Stories 4 Change workshop carefully reflected on the impact their communication skills can have on women’s experiences in pregnancy and birth. Midwives enhanced their communication skills, from active listening to tone of voice, to support women with caring and supportive language.