Future Local Lab
Local Government ExplainedStorytelling: Case studies and resources for local government
Sid Hayward, LGIU
Curated case studies of ways governments can best use local storytelling to better understand and highlight the histories and perspectives of residents and generations. Examples and research this week come from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Curated case studies of ways governments can best use local storytelling to better understand and highlight the histories and perspectives of residents and generations. Examples and research this week come from the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Have your own example to share, get in touch!
Policy innovation and inspiration examples from the local government sector
USA: Sharing experiences of a formative uprising in Detroit
In 1967, Detroit saw one of the deadliest and most destructive uprisings in American history. Nearly fifty years later, the city launched Detroit 67: Looking Back to Move Forward, a project that saw more than 500 individuals share their experiences of the rising via an oral history archive. City authorities engaged the Detroit community in the project’s planning, where programs and exhibitions were based on public input. Alongside exhibitions and programming on 1967, the scheme also includes the Neighbourhoods Oral History Project, which aims to preserve and collect the city’s history at a neighbourhood level from the perspective of current and former residents, and the Detroit Design 2067 initiative.
Detroit Historical
CANADA: The “Story City” initiative
The City of Edmonton’s Story City scheme aims to create connections between residents and the Alberta capital. Projects range from a murder mystery to a queer history tour, from an alien invasion to a guided look at some of the city’s successful startups. Story City aims to help residents understand the needs and perspectives of different communities within the city while enhancing Edmonton’s cultural programming.
StoryCity
USA: Iowa cities make storytelling a focus
At the 2023 Iowa League of Cities Conference, attendees explored how local governments can use storytelling to build stronger connections with residents and promote local identities. Cities took part in workshops to best plan communication strategies and ways to use storytelling to engage residents and promote their city’s distinctive features. The conference reportedly provided city leaders with strategies to use storytelling for more effective marketing and communication, showing how it can help reenergise city branding and community involvement.
de Novo
Report: Storytelling for systems change: listening to understand
This publication examines how storytelling is currently used by government and non-profits. It interviews government officials, funders, academics, and other practitioners about creating the conditions for stories to be heard by those who need to hear them.
Case study: What’s ya story: the making of a digital storytelling mobile app with Aboriginal young people
In 2014, a multidisciplinary team of Australian researchers partnered with young Aboriginal Victorian people to develop and design a prototype digital storytelling mobile application, to be used by Aboriginal youth. This paper details that process.
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