How storytelling can be used for effective change

A story about how stories can become a solution.

Sahba Chauhan, Programme Manager Climate Governance & Society

I’d never thought of storytelling as actively having an impact on climate actions. I knew that if I told you a convincing story about climate, I may get you to act. But I didn’t know it could be a strategic tool for climate action.

In my first few weeks at the IKEA Foundation, I had to take on a film project. I’d never have thought the IKEA Foundation would be investing in films, since I believed our resources need to be used for ‘real action’ on the ground. And I don't watch movies myself. So, I was very reluctant to take on the project.

As I met the people who were involved in creating a fund to support story makers to tell stories in different cultural contexts about how the climate crisis is playing out, I became even more reluctant. I met these very posh filmmakers, the kind you meet at art film festivals, who talked about ‘love’, and going to arts festivals like Burning Man. I thought, "Oh my God, are we sure we’re really doing the right thing here?"

Misinformation

But at the same time I was doing a lot of research about the impact storytelling can have. The more I researched, the more I realised that it's not just us who are doing it. Our opposition has been using storytelling very well to their advantage. The fossil fuel industry spends nearly US$ 4 billion every year to tell stories that are lies about climate change.

There's this whole story machinery working against us. I became very aware of this kind of misinformation, such as advertisements by Total Energy saying, ‘We’re looking for a green future’ – when know their story isn’t positive. It’s about selling you gas, which is harmful for our future. All these stories are meant to reshape people’s attitudes.

Cultural change

Then I was invited to a meeting of these filmmakers in Amsterdam. Again, I reluctantly went. But this time it was such an eye-opening moment for me. These filmmakers were not just filmmakers; they were lifelong activists and cultural experts who knew how storytelling can actually lead to cultural change.

For example, they’d made films in Russia, at great personal risk, which had changed the way Russian people saw how their government functions. And films that drew people’s attention to prisoners facing severe human rights violations that resulted in laws being changed.

Although sometimes filmmakers can seem to be a cultural elite, that's just part of the story. They also do very powerful work, sometimes at great personal danger to themselves. Working with local actors and usually unpaid until the time people buy a ticket to watch their movie.

We all need stories

So now I’ve been part of a process that has created the first Climate Story Fund for films, podcasts and stand-up comedy in the world. It enables story makers to tell climate stories differently from how we’ve heard them before. So they’re not stories about melting glaciers. They empower people to tell their own stories about climate through their lived experiences, concerns and fears.

This whole story telling community was ready to say, "We want to be part of this. We want to tell diverse stories, so that we can collectively find solutions.” Stories as solutions. Because even a policymaker needs a story. I think we all live for stories and we want to create stories.

The impact that the IKEA Foundation has is not just on the people who will hear and see these stories. It will demonstrate to the whole sector how storytelling can be used for effective change. I would call this an ‘ecosystem change’.

How to tell a good story and understanding who you’re trying to influence through a story, why your story is worth listening to, is such an important piece of the puzzle. Renewing our grant to the Climate Story Fund has added tremendously to the impact the culture sector can have.