EWL News

The Art of Storytelling: Why are our stories important for social transformation?

[Brussels 15 November 2017] Stories are everywhere. It’s clear that stories entertain us, but how do stories contribute to social transformation? Stories can be transforming for the storytellers as well as their audience. Part of the strength of storytelling lies in its deeply feminist framing: that the ‘personal is also political’, and that stories can show us this.

Yesterday, on November 14, 5:00 pm (Brussels Time) / 11:00 am (New York Time) we organised a webinar with New York writer and co-founder of elle fin productions, Laura Fischer, who explained us why stories are so powerful and how amplifying women’s voices might truly have the power to transform the world.

Missed this webinar? Find here the live recording! #herstory

Laura Fischer lives in Brooklyn, NY. By day, she works with Gloria Steinem and, by night, she focuses on creative endeavors with her co-owned production company, elle fin productions.

Laura structured the webinar as follows:

  • Storytelling & me. Discussing her life with storytelling, her life with Gloria Steinem and her take on the importance of storytelling in the activist world.
  • Why is storytelling important for activists? Giving useful resources from: Story Genius, Sapiens, On the Origin of Stories, and The Storytelling Animal.
  • How storytelling can help and successfully hook donors. Explaining how storytelling is a more effective means for getting your messages across (vs. only providing facts/figures).
  • How to use storytelling in your organization. Outlining step-by-step techniques from Michael Hauge’s theories.
  • Practical session. Illustrating concrete examples of strong women storytellers around the world.
Google Fellow Giannina Raffo and EWL Programme Director Serap Altinisik
Laura Fischer

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