With the best of intentions, organisations share their work from around the globe, highlighting successes or raising awareness of challenges faced by the communities we work alongside, with many teams trying to balance engagement, representation, dignity and impact in our communications and storytelling. Taking a more ethical approach to storytelling doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking, seemingly small changes can have big impact, and ethical storytelling can be a way to showcase what kind of organisation we are. It can help restore trust with those who have lost faith in the sector. It can also help us identify and connect with new partners, donors and audiences, who share our vision and values.
Join us and Rachel Erskine for a workshop on supporting organisations to better share stories with an ethical and authentic approach. A dynamic and practical session that aims to give participants courage and confidence through examples of organisations doing things differently and consider what we can learn and adapt to our own storytelling.
This session will address:
- What does best practice look like – if it even exists? (Bring along examples which you admire/feel inspired by)
- What might ethical storytelling mean to your organisation?
- What practical changes feel realistic and achievable in the current environment?
- How can ethical approaches be applied across the content lifecycle?
Share your story:
What does good look like?
Have you produced or seen a campaign or piece of storytelling that felt particularly thoughtful, effective or authentic? Send us a link when registering and we may use a selection of examples to help ground discussion during the session.
About the facilitator(s)/organisation:
Rachel has worked in the international solidarity sector for fifteen years, in a broad range of contexts and cultures. She spearheaded the ethical storytelling agenda at Nairobi-based public health NGO Amref Health Africa, collaborating with Jess Crombie on the pioneering research project ‘Who Owns the Story?’, which has influenced policy and practice across the INGO sector.
Rachel now splits her time between her role as Global Marketing Communications Manager for Amref, and her consulting work with charity and INGO clients. She co-chairs Bond’s Ethical Storytelling Working Group and regularly speaks and writes on the topic. She is committed to helping individuals and organisations find the courage and confidence to evolve.
Format: 90 minute workshop with breakout groups and examples, opportunity for Q&A
Who is this for?: All team members, anyone working on communications, or content writers, fundraisers, MEL practitioners, leaders