Culture, Deep Narratives and… Whacamole

Argues for 2 key practices: designing work in recognition of the cultural footprint it will leave & building collective influence.

As the work of narrative change continues to evolve in the UK, there are two key practices that I hope to see become more widely recognised by social and environmental change makers. The first is designing our work in recognition of the cultural footprint that it will leave.

This involves asking deeper questions of our work, such as ‘what values does my work promote and foreground?’ and ‘what deep narratives about the world, and our role as human beings, does it reinforce or amplify?”.

The second practice I hope to see develop, alongside recognising our cultural influence and working in service of tending the soil, is one of building collective influence.

My earnest desire for organisations and movements working towards a better future for people and planet is to stop only trying to come up with new and inventive ways to ‘whack’ the mole more effectively, but to instead also come together and recognise the potential in laying the groundwork for creating a new game altogether.