E-Learning

curl -X GET 'https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning' \ --header 'x-connect-allow: string' \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer token'

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"https://maforum.ippf.org/map-elearning/recordings-of-narrative-cycle-trainings/", "title": { "rendered": "Recordings of Narrative Cycle Trainings" }, "content": { "rendered": "\n<p>Recordings and materials from group trainings on the narrative project cycle</p>\n", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "<p>Recordings and materials from group trainings on the narrative project cycle</p>\n", "protected": false }, "featured_media": 17522, "template": "", "class_list": [ "post-17521", "map-elearning", "type-map-elearning", "status-publish", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry" ], "acf": [], "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning/17521", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/types/map-elearning" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": 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"https://maforum.ippf.org/map-elearning/movement-building-101/", "title": { "rendered": "Movement Building 101" }, "content": { "rendered": "\n<p>Mobilisation tools and techniques from Croatia</p>\n", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "<p>Mobilisation tools and techniques from Croatia</p>\n", "protected": false }, "featured_media": 17519, "template": "", "class_list": [ "post-17518", "map-elearning", "type-map-elearning", "status-publish", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry" ], "acf": [], "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning/17518", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/types/map-elearning" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media/17519" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": 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(Français)" }, "content": { "rendered": "\n<p>Un cours avec des outils pratiques et des exemples de récits gagnants pour le mouvement SDSR</p>\n", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "<p>Un cours avec des outils pratiques et des exemples de récits gagnants pour le mouvement SDSR</p>\n", "protected": false }, "featured_media": 17513, "template": "", "class_list": [ "post-17514", "map-elearning", "type-map-elearning", "status-publish", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry" ], "acf": [], "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning/17514", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-elearning" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/types/map-elearning" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media/17513" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": 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curl -X GET 'https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-leson?parent_course=17523&order_by=meta_value_num&order=asc' \ --header 'x-connect-allow: string' \ --header 'Authorization: Bearer token'

[ { "id": 17689, "date": "2025-06-02T15:46:19", "date_gmt": "2025-06-02T14:46:19", "guid": { "rendered": "https://maforum.ippf.org/?post_type=map-leson&#038;p=17689" }, "modified": "2025-06-17T08:29:25", "modified_gmt": "2025-06-17T07:29:25", "slug": "introduction-to-winning-narratives", "status": "publish", "type": "map-leson", "link": "https://maforum.ippf.org/map-leson/introduction-to-winning-narratives/", "title": { "rendered": "Introduction to winning narratives" }, "content": { "rendered": "\n<p>Our movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights depends on people, and the different ways people make sense of the world around us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The attitudes, behaviours, and policies we want to improve &#8211; and that our opposition threatens to make worse &#8211; are driven by these perceptions. These perceptions are largely influenced by the stories we tell each other, and when those stories are repeated and reinforced enough, they can start to feel like ‘common sense’.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are what we call narratives, and the narratives that people use to make sense of the world right now are not natural or inevitable &#8211; if they can be created by people then they can be changed by people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This course will give you an introduction to the latest best practice in narrative change work and help you to use winning narratives for sexual and reproductive health and rights.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This lesson begins with some basic definitions, shows why narratives are important to our movement, and helps you to choose what you want out of the rest of the course.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17690\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-300x169.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-768x432.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>by Vidushi Yadav</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can I use this course?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This online training is designed for people with different needs to use at your own pace:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you just want a general introduction to winning narratives for our movement, then we recommend this &#8216;introduction&#8217; lesson and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/399\">&#8216;strategy&#8217; lesson</a>. You should also be able to skim through the course from beginning to end in about two hours &#8211; if you skip past the&nbsp;<strong>‘Go Deeper’</strong>&nbsp;segments.<br></li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you want to know the latest narrative best practice and examples specific to our movement &#8211; then you can skip directly to those parts of each module. For example:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your work is more campaigning-focused and you want tools for audience insight you could skip to&nbsp;<em>‘</em><a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/400#what-do-i-need-to-understand-about-my-audience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>What do I need to understand about my audience?&#8217;</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #3 Audiences</a>.&nbsp;</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are an advocacy specialist trying to frame a policy argument in a more persuasive way, you could skip to&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/404#what-narrative-steps-have-already-worked-for-our-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>‘What narrative steps have already worked for our movement’</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #5 Creative</a>.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are a regular spokesperson and want help answering tough questions or misinformation, you could skip to&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/406#should-we-respond-to-the-opposition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>‘Should we respond to the opposition’</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #7 Dissemination</a>.<br></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are developing and delivering narrative change work yourself then you can click on the&nbsp;<strong>‘Go Deeper’</strong>&nbsp;sections to find more in-depth practical advice such as templates, step-by-step toolkits, etc.</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are narratives?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When humans are presented with information, whether it is seeing a crowd on the street, listening to a friend in a conversation, or watching an advert on television, we do not try and analyse everything we hear and see using a completely blank page, like newborn babies.&nbsp;<strong>There is too much information</strong>&nbsp;flying at us every second of every day, it would be impossible!&nbsp;<strong>Our brains have to use shortcuts</strong>&nbsp;&#8211; shortcuts based on everything we have learned since we were born &#8211; to decide what information is important, what it means, and how we should feel about it.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes these shortcuts are simple and directly related to our experience, like other animals: we see metal that is glowing red, our previous experience tells us that means it is hot, and so we feel fear and we behave carefully to avoid touching it. As social animals, humans go a step further and&nbsp;<strong>we share these shortcuts to help communicate with other people</strong>:</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">For example, if I describe my new job as being <em>like being back at school</em>, I’m relying on you already having an understanding of what being at school is like. I’m relying on the frame you have around school. This frame is composed of many associations: teachers, pupils, lessons, sport, buildings and playgrounds. It also potentially tells a story of structure, of growth and learning, or of cliques and bullies.<br><br>Describing my job as being <em>like being back at school</em> creates a different meaning from telling you my job is <em>like being on holiday</em>. I am framing the situation very differently. I want you to understand something different in either case.<br><a href=\"https://www.ilga-europe.org/communicationsresources/framingequality\">Framing Equality</a> (PIRC &amp; ILGA-Europe)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p>We also rely on shortcuts for things we do not have personal experience of. We (probably) do not have personal experience of going into outer space, but we have seen movies, read news stories, and heard other people refer to space in everyday conversation even if they are not actually talking about outer space (e.g.&nbsp;<em>“you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to build this table”</em>). Because of those references, we think we have some idea of what it is like to be an astronaut, and even have some emotions attached to space ourselves (is it scary, or exciting?). So the mental shortcuts which these stories about space give us have the power to make up all our knowledge, emotion, and opinion about a subject on which we have absolutely no personal experience.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why does this matter to our work?</strong>&nbsp;<br>You are probably already thinking of some&nbsp;<em>‘common sense’</em>&nbsp;beliefs that people have about our issues&nbsp; &#8211; about gender, about sexuality, about health &#8211; that you know are completely wrong and harmful. If those beliefs are not inevitable, if they are partially caused by misleading narratives, then alternative narratives must also be possible &#8211; winning narratives &#8211; that can help shift the attitudes, behaviours, and policies that our movement is aiming to change.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>One final reason why this work is important. Our opponents &#8211; the people who believe they can bully women out of their reproductive rights, who do not recognise LGBTI people’s dignity or equality, and who think keeping young people in ignorance is better than keeping them safe &#8211; have long ago recognised the power of narratives. They dedicate substantial resources to test and spread their malicious narratives, coordinating and replicating across international borders. For our movement to succeed, we cannot let them influence the hearts and minds of our audiences unopposed.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>MAIN TAKEAWAY</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There is so much information in the world that our brains use shortcuts to decide what is important and how we should feel about it.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We share these shortcuts with others through stories and references, and the more we use them, the more they influence what we think of as ‘common sense’. These collections of stories are what we call narratives.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If narratives can lead to beliefs that are wrong and harmful to our cause, then it is also possible for other narratives to lead to beliefs which can help our movement win better reproductive and sexual health and rights for everyone. This course aims to help you to find and strengthen these winning narratives.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do all these terms mean?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Why did the ‘back to school’ example above&nbsp; talk about ‘framing’? If narratives are made of stories, and the dictionary definition of the word ‘narrative’ is very similar to ‘story’, what is the difference?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The terminology around narratives in the field of social change is still relatively new and so sometimes it is used in different ways and gets confusing. Do not worry too much about terminology, but here are some definitions of terms you might read in the rest of this course, and why we use them:</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Framing</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17692\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-300x187.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-768x479.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-2048x1277.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When our brain uses those shortcuts to process information, it decides to prioritise some information and deprioritise others, like a picture frame focuses your attention on what is inside the frame and ignores what is outside. Framing (and reframing) is when we make deliberate choices about what we communicate in order to affect what frames our audience sees an issue through, and therefore affect what they think and feel about it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A famous example is when&nbsp;<a href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/february/metaphors-crime-study-022311.html\">Stanford University researchers</a>&nbsp;showed members of the public two almost-identical articles about crime in a city. When the metaphor ‘crime is a beast’ was used, the readers were more supportive of police enforcement. When the metaphor ‘crime is a virus’ was used, readers were more supportive of social policies.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/23.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17693\"/></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://shiverdownspine.com/2020/01/04/bluffers-guide-to-framing-2020/\">Bluffer&#8217;s Guide to Framing</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What’s the difference?<br></strong>When we talk about ‘frames’ and ‘framing’ we normally mean the use of specific words, images, metaphors, etc, to affect the immediate shortcuts that people already have in their head. When we talk about ‘Storytelling’ or ‘narratives’ we are normally talking about organised collections of shortcuts on a larger scale or longer time frame.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Storytelling</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17694\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-300x187.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-768x479.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-2048x1277.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You already know what ‘a story’ is &#8211; but when we talk about ‘storytelling’ in narrative change, we don’t mean making up fictional tales, we just mean using the format of stories as a more persuasive communication device. Compared to citing facts and statistics or outlining a rational policy argument, stories have characters and a plot, normally with some kind of challenge and resolution at the end of the story.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stories arrange the chaotic and overwhelming amount of events in the world into a easier-to-understand structure with a beginning, middle, and end, with heroes, villains, and a moral to the ending, and the evidence suggests that they cause our brains to react to the story as if it was happening to us (which makes sense if you remember the last time you watched or listened to a really good story). Because our audience are more likely to remember and empathise with stories, they are a powerful tool in our communications.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"595\" height=\"211\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17695\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437.png 595w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437-300x106.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Illustrations of &#8220;The Hero&#8217;s Journey&#8221; by&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.weareneo.com/our-thoughts/take-heros-journey/\">We Are Neo</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is the difference?</strong><br>The words story and narrative often get used interchangeably, but generally we use ‘storytelling’ to describe the act of communication, and ‘narratives’ as the beliefs that people have as a result of stories. You&nbsp;<em>tell&nbsp;</em>a story, you&nbsp;<em>understand</em>&nbsp;the narrative.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">“What tiles are to mosaics, stories are to narratives.<br><br>The relationship is symbiotic; stories bring narratives to life by making them relatable and accessible, while narratives infuse stories with deeper meaning.”<br><br>&#8211; <a href=\"https://narrativeinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TheNarrativeInitiative_TowardNewGravity.pdf\">Toward New Gravity</a> (The Narrative Initiative)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Narratives</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1020\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-1024x1020.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17696\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-1024x1020.png 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-300x300.png 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-150x150.png 150w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-768x765.png 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658.png 1362w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As explained above, the term ‘narratives’ often gets used interchangeably with stories, but the key difference is that narratives are the understanding, the ‘common sense’ that we draw out from the patterns that are repeated and reinforced in multiple stories.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MetaNarratives/Deep-Narratives</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"612\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1024x612.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17697\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1024x612.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-300x179.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-768x459.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1536x918.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-2048x1225.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see ‘meta-narratives’ or ‘deep narratives’ being used, it is normally to try and distinguish between narratives and a deeper worldview that connects multiple narratives and is normally unspoken. These worldviews have been compared to an ocean current or tectonic plates: most of us will never see them, but they influence how everything above them moves, and they tend to move gradually but every now and then they can shift dramatically.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s the difference?</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\"><strong>“Stories </strong>share that something happens to someone or something. Stories bring narratives to life by making them relatable, accessible and even personal.<br><br>Here’s a story about sharks: <em>Five swimmers were attacked by sharks along the East Coast of the United States in July, 1916. Four swimmers died. As widespread fear and panic grips the nation, President Woodrow Wilson calls an emergency cabinet meeting. A national alarm is raised and forces are sent to hunt the beasts.</em><br><br><strong>Narratives</strong> are a collection of stories refined over time. Narratives infuse stories with deeper meaning.<br>Here’s a familiar shark narrative: <em>Sharks are vicious, man-eating predators that frequently attack and kill human beings. They pose an imminent and constant threat.</em><br><br>Further below the surface we find <strong>values and worldviews</strong>. Worldviews are embedded and pervasive in culture. We use them to understand history and current events while informing identity, community and belonging.<br><br>Values and worldview shape our relationship to sharks: <em>Humans and nature are in continual battle; we’re defenseless against nature; we fear the unknown.”</em><br><br>&#8211; <a href=\"https://narrativeinitiative.org/blog/waves-a-model-for-deep-narrative-change/\">Waves: A model for deep narrative change</a> (Narrative Initiative &amp; ReFrame)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"586\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1024x586.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17698\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1024x586.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-300x172.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-768x440.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-2048x1173.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"matching-quiz\" data-quiz=\"true\"><h3>Quick quiz:</h3><div class=\"description\">Can you match these four concepts to their definition and example? </div><div class=\"quiz-container\" data-questions=\"[{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Frames&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Stories&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;2&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Narratives&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;3&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Meta-narratives&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;4&quot;}]\" data-definitions=\"[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Words, images, metaphors or other triggers that make the audience interpret a story through a certain narrative.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;How a specific moment or event is recounted. If repeated, start to form a consistent narrative.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;The way events or stories are connected and presented to form a new belief, a \"common sense\" understanding of what is happening.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Narratives that become ingrained in our way of thinking, not just about that issue but other areas of life and how the world works.&quot;}]\" data-examples=\"[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"Angry protestors take the fight to the street\" (violence)&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"At noon today, protestors who were throwing bricks injured a police officer\" &quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"The protest movement in the streets this month is violent, extremist, and divisive\"&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"People who challenge the state are a fundamentally violent threat and sometimes need to be treated forcefully to preserve law and order\"&quot;}]\"></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8211; examples taken from&nbsp;</em><a href=\"https://www.justlabs.org/be-the-narrative\">‘Be The Narrative’</a><em>&nbsp;by JustLabs and Fund for Global Human Rights (also available in Spanish and Russian)</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How does this relate to communications?</strong><br>This course focuses on the discipline of communications as a way to achieve narrative change (as opposed to strategic litigation, community organising, or other disciplines that can also contribute). But it is not a course about communications and marketing techniques, for example how to generate media opportunities or create social media content, as those resources are widely available elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might also hear the term ‘strategic communications’ used when people talk about communications for narrative change. The defining characteristics of strategic communications are:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The objective is not just to&nbsp;<em>win an argument</em>, for example to have a successful media interview, but to&nbsp;<em>change the argument</em>, for example to shift the types of interviews that the media broadcast about your issue.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is&nbsp;<em>long term</em>, with the need to plan and persist for years, rather than just months.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is not about representing your organisation’s brand only, but about advancing the movement through&nbsp;<em>multiple voices&nbsp;</em>on multiple platforms.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>The skills it requires go further than marketing, public relations, etc &#8211; it requires&nbsp;<em>systemic and societal understanding</em>&nbsp;of culture, psychology, and data among others.</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GO DEEPER: What are the difficulties or controversies about these different terms?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a relatively new field with so much at stake and without easy ways of scientifically verifying facts, so not everyone agrees, and not everything that we will cover in this course has been ‘proven’. We are learning all the time and there are definitely uncertain and contested elements to all these practices.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Framing:&nbsp;</strong>There is an argument that the act of framing depends on there being some association already within your audience’s minds that you can reframe around (for example: many people just have no concept of gender as distinct from sex, which makes it hard to ‘reframe’ their perceptions of transgender, intersex or nonbinary people). Some critics argue that focusing too much on what audiences currently believe leads to only saying what is popular, rather than what needs to be said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Storytelling</strong>: Partly because it is a topic that was very fashionable with private sector marketers and TED-talks for a while, there is some scepticism about&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-09-18/the-problem-with-storytelling/\">‘dubious neuroscientific claims’ and ‘very few practical suggestions’</a>&nbsp;about the magic of storytelling.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Narrative</strong>: There have been concerns that&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/07/08/effective-activism/\">‘a lot of money is being spent crafting narratives that no one is going to hear’</a>&nbsp;&#8211; that because the term ‘narrative’ is fashionable among funders, messaging research and crafting is getting disproportionate attention at the expense of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://belonging.berkeley.edu/changing-our-narrative-about-narrative\">‘the narrative infrastructure’</a>&nbsp;and the other aspects of strategic communications that are needed to actually engage and persuade and get those messages to our audiences.<br><br><strong>‘Scientific’ evidence</strong>: A lot of the most commonly cited scientific studies that are used in arguments for framing and neurolinguistics (e.g. that ‘just hearing words related to older people made people immediately act older’) are from the field of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03755-2\">‘social priming’ which has suffered a replicability controversy&nbsp;</a>&#8211; which means a lot of the study findings simply could not be proven true when tried again. This can be confusing, so for those of us who do not have a scientific background in these fields, it is worth paying attention to the science but not putting all our faith in any one study, scientist, or scientific field, and to keep challenging our assumptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/31.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17700\"/></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://shiverdownspine.com/2020/01/04/bluffers-guide-to-framing-2020/\">Bluffer&#8217;s Guide to Framing 2020</a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are narratives important to our movement?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You have logged into an online course about narratives, so we can assume you are at least curious about them, but do you find it hard to convince others that they are important to our movement and that we should spend time and resources on narrative work?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have often found that two arguments that reliably get colleagues interested in winning narratives is: a) they have worked, and b) the rest of the movement is using them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Winning narratives have played a pivotal role in important achievements by our movement</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ireland’s May 2018 referendum to repeal the constitution’s restrictions on abortion, the narrative work that the ‘Yes’ side had been doing for years was seen as crucial to their stunning 66% victory.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The 8th UK Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSwQRBC-Ymc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div></figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">The Irish coalition of feminist organisations and networks “Together for Yes” eschewed radical feminist framing of self-determination. The coalition shifted to create a universalising framing that would counteract stigmatizing discourses on abortion which focus on concealment, secrecy and shame. To counteract such stigmatising discourses, the proponents of reproductive rights needed to convince the public that abortion is not an exception and “women who abort” are not a separate category, but are “normal women”, accessing regular forms of health care and worthy of respect and love.<br><br>One of the central slogans of the campaign became “Sometimes a private matter needs public support”. Under this rubric, countless women relayed, through social and traditional media formats, their personal experiences with abortion, notably involving travelling to the United Kingdom to obtain the procedure. While younger women’s stories were recounted, efforts were made to highlight the stories of parents experiencing a pregnancy with a fatal fetal abnormality, or the predicaments of rape or incest victims. Repealing the restriction on abortion in this context was framed not in an “unapologetic way” but as a merciful solution for those parents seeking termination of an inviable pregnancy. This was deemed particularly effective in “putting a face to the argument and pulling people towards the idea of mothers and families requiring better health care”<br><br>&#8211; from the research paper <a href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2019.1686197\">‘Challenging abortion stigma’</a></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.ippf.org/siobhans-story-abortion-and-referendum-ireland\">Read more here</a>&nbsp;about the particular role that storytelling played in the referendum from the perspective of Siobhán, a communications officer at the Irish Family Planning Association.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n<p>After a narrow defeat for legislation legalising abortion in 2018, the Argentinian ‘Ni Una Menos’ movement (‘not one woman less’) reframed abortion not as solely an individual right, but as a question of social justice and public health for a more diverse type of woman. This culturally-tailored message was seen as an important factor in the success of the ‘green wave’ in a second attempt to pass the law in December 2020.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Narrative work is energising our colleagues in the movement all around the world</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/34.mp4\"></video></figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">“Dignity is a very Christian concept we should use more often to translate our rights-based views. It resonates with everyday language in Christian societies, but also several constitutions have human dignity as their legal language. There is some experience in Latin America in doing so. We can&#8217;t let the opposition have the monopoly of the ‘dignity’ concept; we should reclaim it.”<br><br>&#8211; Representatives from Latin America at a Winning Narratives Centre community of practice session.</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/35.mp4\"></video></figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>IPPF partners were asked ‘if you could go back in time one year, what advice on narrative work would you give yourself?’</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"511\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-1024x511.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17702\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-1024x511.png 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-300x150.png 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-768x383.png 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659.png 1405w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Advice on narrative change from IPPF partners</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well done for finishing this introduction &#8211; so you are interested in the topic? If you want to find out how to make it strategic and what the different stages of work look like, move on to our next lesson on &#8216;strategy&#8217;.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "<p>Our movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights depends on people, and the different ways people make sense of the world around us. The attitudes, behaviours, and policies we want to improve &#8211; and that our opposition threatens to make worse &#8211; are driven by these perceptions. These perceptions are largely influenced by the [&hellip;]</p>\n", "protected": false }, "featured_media": 18257, "template": "", "class_list": [ "post-17689", "map-leson", "type-map-leson", "status-publish", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry" ], "acf": [], "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-leson/17689", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-leson" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/types/map-leson" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media/18257" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media?parent=17689" } ], "curies": [ { "name": "wp", "href": "https://api.w.org/{rel}", "templated": true } ] } } ]

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{ "id": 17689, "date": "2025-06-02T15:46:19", "date_gmt": "2025-06-02T14:46:19", "guid": { "rendered": "https://maforum.ippf.org/?post_type=map-leson&#038;p=17689" }, "modified": "2025-06-17T08:29:25", "modified_gmt": "2025-06-17T07:29:25", "slug": "introduction-to-winning-narratives", "status": "publish", "type": "map-leson", "link": "https://maforum.ippf.org/map-leson/introduction-to-winning-narratives/", "title": { "rendered": "Introduction to winning narratives" }, "content": { "rendered": "\n<p>Our movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights depends on people, and the different ways people make sense of the world around us.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The attitudes, behaviours, and policies we want to improve &#8211; and that our opposition threatens to make worse &#8211; are driven by these perceptions. These perceptions are largely influenced by the stories we tell each other, and when those stories are repeated and reinforced enough, they can start to feel like ‘common sense’.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are what we call narratives, and the narratives that people use to make sense of the world right now are not natural or inevitable &#8211; if they can be created by people then they can be changed by people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This course will give you an introduction to the latest best practice in narrative change work and help you to use winning narratives for sexual and reproductive health and rights.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This lesson begins with some basic definitions, shows why narratives are important to our movement, and helps you to choose what you want out of the rest of the course.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17690\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-300x169.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-768x432.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/656-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>by Vidushi Yadav</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can I use this course?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This online training is designed for people with different needs to use at your own pace:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If you just want a general introduction to winning narratives for our movement, then we recommend this &#8216;introduction&#8217; lesson and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/399\">&#8216;strategy&#8217; lesson</a>. You should also be able to skim through the course from beginning to end in about two hours &#8211; if you skip past the&nbsp;<strong>‘Go Deeper’</strong>&nbsp;segments.<br></li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you want to know the latest narrative best practice and examples specific to our movement &#8211; then you can skip directly to those parts of each module. For example:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If your work is more campaigning-focused and you want tools for audience insight you could skip to&nbsp;<em>‘</em><a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/400#what-do-i-need-to-understand-about-my-audience\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>What do I need to understand about my audience?&#8217;</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #3 Audiences</a>.&nbsp;</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are an advocacy specialist trying to frame a policy argument in a more persuasive way, you could skip to&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/404#what-narrative-steps-have-already-worked-for-our-movement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>‘What narrative steps have already worked for our movement’</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #5 Creative</a>.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are a regular spokesperson and want help answering tough questions or misinformation, you could skip to&nbsp;<a href=\"https://movementaccelerator.org/read-course/241/406#should-we-respond-to-the-opposition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>‘Should we respond to the opposition’</em>&nbsp;in Lesson #7 Dissemination</a>.<br></li>\n</ul>\n</li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are developing and delivering narrative change work yourself then you can click on the&nbsp;<strong>‘Go Deeper’</strong>&nbsp;sections to find more in-depth practical advice such as templates, step-by-step toolkits, etc.</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are narratives?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When humans are presented with information, whether it is seeing a crowd on the street, listening to a friend in a conversation, or watching an advert on television, we do not try and analyse everything we hear and see using a completely blank page, like newborn babies.&nbsp;<strong>There is too much information</strong>&nbsp;flying at us every second of every day, it would be impossible!&nbsp;<strong>Our brains have to use shortcuts</strong>&nbsp;&#8211; shortcuts based on everything we have learned since we were born &#8211; to decide what information is important, what it means, and how we should feel about it.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes these shortcuts are simple and directly related to our experience, like other animals: we see metal that is glowing red, our previous experience tells us that means it is hot, and so we feel fear and we behave carefully to avoid touching it. As social animals, humans go a step further and&nbsp;<strong>we share these shortcuts to help communicate with other people</strong>:</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">For example, if I describe my new job as being <em>like being back at school</em>, I’m relying on you already having an understanding of what being at school is like. I’m relying on the frame you have around school. This frame is composed of many associations: teachers, pupils, lessons, sport, buildings and playgrounds. It also potentially tells a story of structure, of growth and learning, or of cliques and bullies.<br><br>Describing my job as being <em>like being back at school</em> creates a different meaning from telling you my job is <em>like being on holiday</em>. I am framing the situation very differently. I want you to understand something different in either case.<br><a href=\"https://www.ilga-europe.org/communicationsresources/framingequality\">Framing Equality</a> (PIRC &amp; ILGA-Europe)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p>We also rely on shortcuts for things we do not have personal experience of. We (probably) do not have personal experience of going into outer space, but we have seen movies, read news stories, and heard other people refer to space in everyday conversation even if they are not actually talking about outer space (e.g.&nbsp;<em>“you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to build this table”</em>). Because of those references, we think we have some idea of what it is like to be an astronaut, and even have some emotions attached to space ourselves (is it scary, or exciting?). So the mental shortcuts which these stories about space give us have the power to make up all our knowledge, emotion, and opinion about a subject on which we have absolutely no personal experience.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why does this matter to our work?</strong>&nbsp;<br>You are probably already thinking of some&nbsp;<em>‘common sense’</em>&nbsp;beliefs that people have about our issues&nbsp; &#8211; about gender, about sexuality, about health &#8211; that you know are completely wrong and harmful. If those beliefs are not inevitable, if they are partially caused by misleading narratives, then alternative narratives must also be possible &#8211; winning narratives &#8211; that can help shift the attitudes, behaviours, and policies that our movement is aiming to change.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>One final reason why this work is important. Our opponents &#8211; the people who believe they can bully women out of their reproductive rights, who do not recognise LGBTI people’s dignity or equality, and who think keeping young people in ignorance is better than keeping them safe &#8211; have long ago recognised the power of narratives. They dedicate substantial resources to test and spread their malicious narratives, coordinating and replicating across international borders. For our movement to succeed, we cannot let them influence the hearts and minds of our audiences unopposed.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>MAIN TAKEAWAY</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There is so much information in the world that our brains use shortcuts to decide what is important and how we should feel about it.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We share these shortcuts with others through stories and references, and the more we use them, the more they influence what we think of as ‘common sense’. These collections of stories are what we call narratives.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If narratives can lead to beliefs that are wrong and harmful to our cause, then it is also possible for other narratives to lead to beliefs which can help our movement win better reproductive and sexual health and rights for everyone. This course aims to help you to find and strengthen these winning narratives.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What do all these terms mean?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Why did the ‘back to school’ example above&nbsp; talk about ‘framing’? If narratives are made of stories, and the dictionary definition of the word ‘narrative’ is very similar to ‘story’, what is the difference?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The terminology around narratives in the field of social change is still relatively new and so sometimes it is used in different ways and gets confusing. Do not worry too much about terminology, but here are some definitions of terms you might read in the rest of this course, and why we use them:</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Framing</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17692\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-300x187.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-768x479.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/433-2048x1277.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When our brain uses those shortcuts to process information, it decides to prioritise some information and deprioritise others, like a picture frame focuses your attention on what is inside the frame and ignores what is outside. Framing (and reframing) is when we make deliberate choices about what we communicate in order to affect what frames our audience sees an issue through, and therefore affect what they think and feel about it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A famous example is when&nbsp;<a href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/february/metaphors-crime-study-022311.html\">Stanford University researchers</a>&nbsp;showed members of the public two almost-identical articles about crime in a city. When the metaphor ‘crime is a beast’ was used, the readers were more supportive of police enforcement. When the metaphor ‘crime is a virus’ was used, readers were more supportive of social policies.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/23.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17693\"/></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://shiverdownspine.com/2020/01/04/bluffers-guide-to-framing-2020/\">Bluffer&#8217;s Guide to Framing</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What’s the difference?<br></strong>When we talk about ‘frames’ and ‘framing’ we normally mean the use of specific words, images, metaphors, etc, to affect the immediate shortcuts that people already have in their head. When we talk about ‘Storytelling’ or ‘narratives’ we are normally talking about organised collections of shortcuts on a larger scale or longer time frame.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Storytelling</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17694\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-300x187.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-768x479.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-1536x958.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/436-2048x1277.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You already know what ‘a story’ is &#8211; but when we talk about ‘storytelling’ in narrative change, we don’t mean making up fictional tales, we just mean using the format of stories as a more persuasive communication device. Compared to citing facts and statistics or outlining a rational policy argument, stories have characters and a plot, normally with some kind of challenge and resolution at the end of the story.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stories arrange the chaotic and overwhelming amount of events in the world into a easier-to-understand structure with a beginning, middle, and end, with heroes, villains, and a moral to the ending, and the evidence suggests that they cause our brains to react to the story as if it was happening to us (which makes sense if you remember the last time you watched or listened to a really good story). Because our audience are more likely to remember and empathise with stories, they are a powerful tool in our communications.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"595\" height=\"211\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17695\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437.png 595w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/437-300x106.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 595px) 100vw, 595px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Illustrations of &#8220;The Hero&#8217;s Journey&#8221; by&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.weareneo.com/our-thoughts/take-heros-journey/\">We Are Neo</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is the difference?</strong><br>The words story and narrative often get used interchangeably, but generally we use ‘storytelling’ to describe the act of communication, and ‘narratives’ as the beliefs that people have as a result of stories. You&nbsp;<em>tell&nbsp;</em>a story, you&nbsp;<em>understand</em>&nbsp;the narrative.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">“What tiles are to mosaics, stories are to narratives.<br><br>The relationship is symbiotic; stories bring narratives to life by making them relatable and accessible, while narratives infuse stories with deeper meaning.”<br><br>&#8211; <a href=\"https://narrativeinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TheNarrativeInitiative_TowardNewGravity.pdf\">Toward New Gravity</a> (The Narrative Initiative)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Narratives</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1020\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-1024x1020.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17696\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-1024x1020.png 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-300x300.png 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-150x150.png 150w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658-768x765.png 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/658.png 1362w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As explained above, the term ‘narratives’ often gets used interchangeably with stories, but the key difference is that narratives are the understanding, the ‘common sense’ that we draw out from the patterns that are repeated and reinforced in multiple stories.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">MetaNarratives/Deep-Narratives</h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"612\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1024x612.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17697\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1024x612.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-300x179.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-768x459.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-1536x918.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/30-2048x1225.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you see ‘meta-narratives’ or ‘deep narratives’ being used, it is normally to try and distinguish between narratives and a deeper worldview that connects multiple narratives and is normally unspoken. These worldviews have been compared to an ocean current or tectonic plates: most of us will never see them, but they influence how everything above them moves, and they tend to move gradually but every now and then they can shift dramatically.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s the difference?</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\"><strong>“Stories </strong>share that something happens to someone or something. Stories bring narratives to life by making them relatable, accessible and even personal.<br><br>Here’s a story about sharks: <em>Five swimmers were attacked by sharks along the East Coast of the United States in July, 1916. Four swimmers died. As widespread fear and panic grips the nation, President Woodrow Wilson calls an emergency cabinet meeting. A national alarm is raised and forces are sent to hunt the beasts.</em><br><br><strong>Narratives</strong> are a collection of stories refined over time. Narratives infuse stories with deeper meaning.<br>Here’s a familiar shark narrative: <em>Sharks are vicious, man-eating predators that frequently attack and kill human beings. They pose an imminent and constant threat.</em><br><br>Further below the surface we find <strong>values and worldviews</strong>. Worldviews are embedded and pervasive in culture. We use them to understand history and current events while informing identity, community and belonging.<br><br>Values and worldview shape our relationship to sharks: <em>Humans and nature are in continual battle; we’re defenseless against nature; we fear the unknown.”</em><br><br>&#8211; <a href=\"https://narrativeinitiative.org/blog/waves-a-model-for-deep-narrative-change/\">Waves: A model for deep narrative change</a> (Narrative Initiative &amp; ReFrame)</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"586\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1024x586.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17698\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1024x586.jpg 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-300x172.jpg 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-768x440.jpg 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-1536x879.jpg 1536w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/26-2048x1173.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Vidushi Yadav)</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"matching-quiz\" data-quiz=\"true\"><h3>Quick quiz:</h3><div class=\"description\">Can you match these four concepts to their definition and example? </div><div class=\"quiz-container\" data-questions=\"[{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Frames&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;1&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Stories&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;2&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Narratives&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;3&quot;},{&quot;label&quot;:&quot;Meta-narratives&quot;,&quot;correct_definition&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;correct_example&quot;:&quot;4&quot;}]\" data-definitions=\"[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Words, images, metaphors or other triggers that make the audience interpret a story through a certain narrative.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;How a specific moment or event is recounted. If repeated, start to form a consistent narrative.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;The way events or stories are connected and presented to form a new belief, a \"common sense\" understanding of what is happening.&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Narratives that become ingrained in our way of thinking, not just about that issue but other areas of life and how the world works.&quot;}]\" data-examples=\"[{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"Angry protestors take the fight to the street\" (violence)&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"At noon today, protestors who were throwing bricks injured a police officer\" &quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"The protest movement in the streets this month is violent, extremist, and divisive\"&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;\"People who challenge the state are a fundamentally violent threat and sometimes need to be treated forcefully to preserve law and order\"&quot;}]\"></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8211; examples taken from&nbsp;</em><a href=\"https://www.justlabs.org/be-the-narrative\">‘Be The Narrative’</a><em>&nbsp;by JustLabs and Fund for Global Human Rights (also available in Spanish and Russian)</em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How does this relate to communications?</strong><br>This course focuses on the discipline of communications as a way to achieve narrative change (as opposed to strategic litigation, community organising, or other disciplines that can also contribute). But it is not a course about communications and marketing techniques, for example how to generate media opportunities or create social media content, as those resources are widely available elsewhere.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might also hear the term ‘strategic communications’ used when people talk about communications for narrative change. The defining characteristics of strategic communications are:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The objective is not just to&nbsp;<em>win an argument</em>, for example to have a successful media interview, but to&nbsp;<em>change the argument</em>, for example to shift the types of interviews that the media broadcast about your issue.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is&nbsp;<em>long term</em>, with the need to plan and persist for years, rather than just months.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is not about representing your organisation’s brand only, but about advancing the movement through&nbsp;<em>multiple voices&nbsp;</em>on multiple platforms.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>The skills it requires go further than marketing, public relations, etc &#8211; it requires&nbsp;<em>systemic and societal understanding</em>&nbsp;of culture, psychology, and data among others.</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GO DEEPER: What are the difficulties or controversies about these different terms?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a relatively new field with so much at stake and without easy ways of scientifically verifying facts, so not everyone agrees, and not everything that we will cover in this course has been ‘proven’. We are learning all the time and there are definitely uncertain and contested elements to all these practices.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Framing:&nbsp;</strong>There is an argument that the act of framing depends on there being some association already within your audience’s minds that you can reframe around (for example: many people just have no concept of gender as distinct from sex, which makes it hard to ‘reframe’ their perceptions of transgender, intersex or nonbinary people). Some critics argue that focusing too much on what audiences currently believe leads to only saying what is popular, rather than what needs to be said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Storytelling</strong>: Partly because it is a topic that was very fashionable with private sector marketers and TED-talks for a while, there is some scepticism about&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.resilience.org/stories/2018-09-18/the-problem-with-storytelling/\">‘dubious neuroscientific claims’ and ‘very few practical suggestions’</a>&nbsp;about the magic of storytelling.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Narrative</strong>: There have been concerns that&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/07/08/effective-activism/\">‘a lot of money is being spent crafting narratives that no one is going to hear’</a>&nbsp;&#8211; that because the term ‘narrative’ is fashionable among funders, messaging research and crafting is getting disproportionate attention at the expense of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://belonging.berkeley.edu/changing-our-narrative-about-narrative\">‘the narrative infrastructure’</a>&nbsp;and the other aspects of strategic communications that are needed to actually engage and persuade and get those messages to our audiences.<br><br><strong>‘Scientific’ evidence</strong>: A lot of the most commonly cited scientific studies that are used in arguments for framing and neurolinguistics (e.g. that ‘just hearing words related to older people made people immediately act older’) are from the field of&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03755-2\">‘social priming’ which has suffered a replicability controversy&nbsp;</a>&#8211; which means a lot of the study findings simply could not be proven true when tried again. This can be confusing, so for those of us who do not have a scientific background in these fields, it is worth paying attention to the science but not putting all our faith in any one study, scientist, or scientific field, and to keep challenging our assumptions.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/31.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17700\"/></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://shiverdownspine.com/2020/01/04/bluffers-guide-to-framing-2020/\">Bluffer&#8217;s Guide to Framing 2020</a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why are narratives important to our movement?</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You have logged into an online course about narratives, so we can assume you are at least curious about them, but do you find it hard to convince others that they are important to our movement and that we should spend time and resources on narrative work?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have often found that two arguments that reliably get colleagues interested in winning narratives is: a) they have worked, and b) the rest of the movement is using them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Winning narratives have played a pivotal role in important achievements by our movement</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Ireland’s May 2018 referendum to repeal the constitution’s restrictions on abortion, the narrative work that the ‘Yes’ side had been doing for years was seen as crucial to their stunning 66% victory.</p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The 8th UK Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSwQRBC-Ymc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n</div></figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">The Irish coalition of feminist organisations and networks “Together for Yes” eschewed radical feminist framing of self-determination. The coalition shifted to create a universalising framing that would counteract stigmatizing discourses on abortion which focus on concealment, secrecy and shame. To counteract such stigmatising discourses, the proponents of reproductive rights needed to convince the public that abortion is not an exception and “women who abort” are not a separate category, but are “normal women”, accessing regular forms of health care and worthy of respect and love.<br><br>One of the central slogans of the campaign became “Sometimes a private matter needs public support”. Under this rubric, countless women relayed, through social and traditional media formats, their personal experiences with abortion, notably involving travelling to the United Kingdom to obtain the procedure. While younger women’s stories were recounted, efforts were made to highlight the stories of parents experiencing a pregnancy with a fatal fetal abnormality, or the predicaments of rape or incest victims. Repealing the restriction on abortion in this context was framed not in an “unapologetic way” but as a merciful solution for those parents seeking termination of an inviable pregnancy. This was deemed particularly effective in “putting a face to the argument and pulling people towards the idea of mothers and families requiring better health care”<br><br>&#8211; from the research paper <a href=\"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26410397.2019.1686197\">‘Challenging abortion stigma’</a></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.ippf.org/siobhans-story-abortion-and-referendum-ireland\">Read more here</a>&nbsp;about the particular role that storytelling played in the referendum from the perspective of Siobhán, a communications officer at the Irish Family Planning Association.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"/>\n\n\n\n<p>After a narrow defeat for legislation legalising abortion in 2018, the Argentinian ‘Ni Una Menos’ movement (‘not one woman less’) reframed abortion not as solely an individual right, but as a question of social justice and public health for a more diverse type of woman. This culturally-tailored message was seen as an important factor in the success of the ‘green wave’ in a second attempt to pass the law in December 2020.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Narrative work is energising our colleagues in the movement all around the world</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/34.mp4\"></video></figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-quote-card quote-card\"><div class=\"quote-header\"><h4 class=\"quote-title\">Winning Narratives (English)</h4><span class=\"quote-subtitle\">Introduction to winning narratives</span></div><div class=\"quote-body qb\"><div class=\"quote-text\">“Dignity is a very Christian concept we should use more often to translate our rights-based views. It resonates with everyday language in Christian societies, but also several constitutions have human dignity as their legal language. There is some experience in Latin America in doing so. We can&#8217;t let the opposition have the monopoly of the ‘dignity’ concept; we should reclaim it.”<br><br>&#8211; Representatives from Latin America at a Winning Narratives Centre community of practice session.</div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/35.mp4\"></video></figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>IPPF partners were asked ‘if you could go back in time one year, what advice on narrative work would you give yourself?’</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"511\" src=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-1024x511.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17702\" srcset=\"https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-1024x511.png 1024w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-300x150.png 300w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659-768x383.png 768w, https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/659.png 1405w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" /></figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Advice on narrative change from IPPF partners</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well done for finishing this introduction &#8211; so you are interested in the topic? If you want to find out how to make it strategic and what the different stages of work look like, move on to our next lesson on &#8216;strategy&#8217;.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "<p>Our movement for sexual and reproductive health and rights depends on people, and the different ways people make sense of the world around us. The attitudes, behaviours, and policies we want to improve &#8211; and that our opposition threatens to make worse &#8211; are driven by these perceptions. These perceptions are largely influenced by the [&hellip;]</p>\n", "protected": false }, "featured_media": 18257, "template": "", "class_list": [ "post-17689", "map-leson", "type-map-leson", "status-publish", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry" ], "acf": [], "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-leson/17689", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET", "POST", "PUT", "PATCH", "DELETE" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/map-leson" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/types/map-leson" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media/18257" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": "https://maforum.ippf.org/wp-json/wp/v2/media?parent=17689" } ], "curies": [ { "name": "wp", "href": "https://api.w.org/{rel}", "templated": true } ] } }