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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A Guide to Hope-based Communications
2019
Available in English, Spanish, Thai
The strategic communication manual is designed to help human rights advocates shift from fear-based messaging to a more empowering, solution-oriented narrative. Developed with Thomas Coombes, the guide outlines five key shifts: focusing on solutions rather than problems, emphasizing what we stand for instead of what we oppose, creating opportunities for action, highlighting everyday heroes, and reinforcing a sense of agency with the message “we’ve got this.” By rooting communication in shared values and a vision for a better future, the guide aims to inspire hope, counter cynicism, and reframe public discourse to favor human rights progress.
Course: Narrative Work
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identities (SOGI) Campaigns created a free online course on narrative work, with a specific focus on campaigning.
This is a 6-lesson course that will guide you to
- Understand what narratives are
- Identify the narratives that circulate in your context
- Develop communications that impact the narrative context
- Evaluate your narrative strategy
Narrative Power and Collective Action: Conversations with people working to change narratives for social good
by Oxfam
2020
Available in English, Spanish, French
Narratives are a form of power that can mobilize and connect, as well as divide and isolate. Social, public or dominant narratives help to legitimize existing power relationships, prop them up or make them seem natural.
As an anthology of perspectives this knowledge offering is one way to amplify different and diverse ways of knowing and doing narratives. Narratives are made up of many stories, tweets, online content, offline conversations. They keep deeply held ideas about society and people in place, for good and bad.
Narratives are not something that happen over there, they are part of us and we are part of them. We can challenge or reinforce narratives on daily basis. We see powerful damaging narratives at work in the COVID-19 response, and in systems of oppression that perpetuate inequality. We can use this knowledge to guide us now and as we move into the future. Narrative knowledge and framing know-how can help us to open civic space, collaborate better and amplify others, helping us to be part of the biggest ‘us’ we can be.
Interested to know more? We spoke to 20+ collaborators from across the world. They share with us their knowledge, ideas, tips, and tactics from their lived experience. Learn from them. Collaborate with them. Let’s creatively and collectively act on narratives together. These ideas are contributing to Oxfam’s creative collaborations with others to protect and open civic space.
Safeguarding Civic Space: Harnessing Narrative Change to Restore Public Trust in CSOs
by International Centre for Policy Advocacy
2024
Available in English
In an era of shrinking civic space, civil society organisations (CSOs) find themselves under immense pressure, contending with a barrage of legal measures and narrative attacks aimed at undermining and vilifying them. Against this backdrop of democratic backsliding, the guide serves as a proactive resource, to move past commenting on the erosion of democracy to empowering actors to defend and promote civic rights effectively.
Crafted from first-hand experience and extensive research, the guide offers 10 practical lessons for proactive narrative change. Drawing from successful campaigns around the globe, including in-depth insights from a locally-led CSO coalition in Kazakhstan and efforts to counter 'foreign agents' laws in Kenya and Kyrgyzstan, these lessons provide actionable strategies to restore trust in CSOs with sceptical middle audiences.
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We would love to hear from you! Please reach out to khgc@oxfam.org for any resource suggestions.