Explore selected resources covering diverse aspects of narrative work and find practical tools speaking to your specific narrative interests and needs.
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How to talk about Democracy: What we know (and don’t know)
by Ryan Gem, Rushikesh Jadhav, Maria Milosh, Aby Dwi Prasetya, Mareike Schomerus and Gideon Too Democracy Narratives Alliance (DNA)
2026
Available in English
This research brief brings together extensive evidence and practice‑based insights on the role of narratives in shaping public understanding of democracy. Drawing on a review of nearly 400 publications and over 150 studies, as well as contributions from more than 30 organisations and experts, it maps dominant narratives about democracy, explores how messaging interacts with deeper mental models, and identifies strategies to rebuild trust and participation. It makes a clear case for coordinated, strategic narrative work as a critical condition for strengthening democratic resilience and countering disengagement.
Imagining the Otherwise Curriculum: Choose Your Own Adventure
by Lucila Sandoval & Fenya Fischle | Global Narrative Hive & Intrasentido
2026
Available in English
Developed through a global writers' cohort, this curriculum offers a practical and adaptable framework for facilitating narrative change processes. Structured around five thematic modules, it combines readings, discussion prompts, writing exercises, and collective reflection activities drawing on abolitionist thought, Indigenous resistance practices, queer and feminist literature, historical memory, speculative fiction, and somatic approaches. Throughout, participants are invited to reflect on how stories shape what societies perceive as possible, dangerous, and worth protecting.
Mapping the Currents: A Manual for Community-Centered Cinema
by Jen Tarnate, Aghniadi, Patrick F. Campos, and Karmela Indoyon
2025
Mapping the Currents: A Manual for Community‑Centered Cinema draws on the Cinemata Currents 2025 film festival and hybrid screenings to share lessons on using film as a tool for fostering civic engagement. The guide explores community‑centred curation, collective screenings, and facilitated dialogue, offering case studies, reflections, and practical tools to support locally grounded film programmes and narrative practice across diverse contexts.
Mapping the Global Democracy Narrative Landscape: Research Findings and Applications
2025
Available in English
This resource synthesises data collected between 2022 and 2024 across 11 countries. Combining large‑scale narrative scans, in‑depth case studies, and message testing, it identifies the dominant and salient pro-democracy and pro-authoritarian narratives, as well as the core values that underpin them. The resource provides practical, evidence‑based guidance for developing effective messaging, emphasising the importance of aligning narratives with people’s tangible realities and core values.
Migrant women: Narratives and perceptions
by Eleni Diker, Sydney Cohee, and Natalia Kossowska
2025
Available in English
This joint policy brief by UN Women and Oxfam explores how narratives about migrant women are shaped and why they matter. Using the Stereotype Content Model, it examines how public perceptions — from pity to admiration or contempt — influence visibility, rights, and well‑being. The brief highlights harmful frames across contexts and offers practical guidance for governments, media, and civil society to reshape narratives through gender‑responsive, human‑rights‑based storytelling.
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