How to Create a Culture of Storytelling
Too many people believe that poverty is caused by a lack of money. But BRAC knows better. As the world’s largest development organization, changing the lives of 125 million people around the world, they know that poverty is sustained by a lack of opportunity, not money. We first saw their work in action 2 years ago in the villages of Bangladesh, where we heard unbelievable stories of women rising up and demanding change. They were preventing child marriages. Confronting corruption. Refusing to accept domestic violence. Insisting on political representation- heck, even more »
10 Elements of Great Stories
We all know a good story when we hear one. The storyteller holds the room rapt. We’re on the edge of our seat, curious to know what will happen next. We feel moved, connected and that the story is speaking to our own personal journeys. Similarly, we know a bad story when we hear one. We become bored and there isn’t any lingering question (“what will happen next?”) to keep us listening. As listeners, our attention span serves as an indicator of whether we’re listening to a good story or more »
Impossible is Nothing- KIPP Gala Video
KIPP School Summit Gala Video from KIPP Foundation on Vimeo. “KIPP started by proving people wrong,” said Nathaniel. “People who said that we couldn’t do anything because we’re poor. That we weren’t going to go anywhere.” KIPP started in 1994 with one classroom in Houston, Texas. It’s now grown to 125 schools serving over 30,000 students. Every year, they bring together all their teachers and support staff for one huge event- the KIPP School Summit. It’s a week of professional development, collaboration and inspiration- designed to invigorate their army of more »
Annie’s TEDxNYU talk: Your Story Can Change the World
To be honest, doing the TEDx talk was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. My talk was about encouraging others to tell the stories they’re scared to tell, but I really had to battle that fear myself. I had to face all my inner demons- the voices telling me I’m not smart, articulate, insightful, brave enough to do it. The voices told me that my ideas weren’t profound, deep or new. The stories I was sharing were deeply personal, so I felt incredibly vulnerable. I did more »
6 Videos to Tell Your Story and Inspire Action
We’re on a mission to end bad nonprofit video. You know, the boring, long, put-you-to-sleep video about what the nonprofit does and not why, how or results. Nonprofits have too much on the line—and too many inspiring stories—for this. When we first started working with nonprofits to create videos, we realized that communicators see the power of video to connect their audience to their mission, inspire action and build a movement, but often don’t know where to begin. Overwhelmed, they put everything in a single video. Here are two approaches more »
Memorial for Ziad
Yesterday we took our online activism offline and hit the streets, calling for the Israeli Attorney General to press charges against Maxim Vinogradov, the man who killed Ziad Jilani. On the 2nd anniversary of Ziad’s death, memorials for Ziad Jilani took place in NYC, Jerusalem, LA, Helinski, Ireland and Toronto. 2,500 people have now signed this petition demanding justice. Have you? Here are some images from the memorial we led in NYC: Tweet
Memories of Ziad
Killing Without Consequence from ListenIn Pictures on Vimeo. “I miss my daddy,” said Yasmin quietly. We were at Moira Jilani’s home, with her 3 daughters, recalling memories about Ziad’s life. They talked about how much fun he was. He’d dreamed of having a big family and did everything he could to give his daughters great memories. He was always playing with whatever kids were around, whether they were his or not. Moira first knew he was a good man when she heard him talk about how much he loved and more »
Donaldo’s Story
All this week we’re sharing the photo essays we created for the New Schools Venture Fund Summit. These stories were shared with 1000 leaders of education reform. In gentle and cautious words, Donaldo makes clear that the life he now expects is very different from the one that could have been. Donaldo’s father died a few years ago, under circumstances he doesn’t know much about. He had been sick, and when he died, it took a year for Donaldo to find out. Yet his stepfather, he says, has been a good father more »
Ayiana’s Story
All this week we’re sharing the photo essays we created for the New Schools Venture Fund Summit. These stories were shared with 1000 leaders of education reform. No one has been harder on Ayiana than she’s been on herself. A fair student through third grade, she first ran into real trouble in fourth grade, where she ultimately had to repeat the year. She turned on herself with spite. “When I wasn’t able to pass to the fourth grade, I felt disappointed in myself and I didn’t really feel like I was that more »
Paris’ Story
All this week we’re sharing the photo essays we created for the New Schools Venture Fund Summit. These stories were shared with 1000 leaders of education reform. Ask 17-year-old Paris about her greatest worries of the moment, and she will answer you as any promising high-school junior might: she is struggling to balance her daily load of classes and homework with the pressure of AP exams and anxious about having to bring together a year’s learning for a three-hour test. These have not always been her greatest concerns. Growing up in what more »
