fundacion telefonica madrid transmedia living lab

The Design of Narrative Platforms for Social Change:

Transmedia Activism

Lina SrivastavaFundación Telefónica | Transmedia Living Lab

30 May 2012

Transmedia Activism

Transmedia Activism

Transmedia ActivismFramework for strategy to

- Create social impact- Influence perception- Build community

through storytelling byauthors, stakeholders and communities whoshare assets + create entry pointsinto issues and solutions across multiple forms of media

Transmedia Activism

Design

User-Centered DesignCommunity-Centered Approaches

Design ThinkingUser Experience

Systemic/Systems Change

Transmedia Activism

Storytelling

LeadershipSocial Change

Local Voice | Humanizing Social Issues

Social NetworksStorytelling Technologies

InteractivityOnline/Offline Social Movements | Activist Media

Transmedia Activism

Social InnovationA novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals. A social innovation can be a product, production process, or technology (much like innovation in general), but it can also be a principle, an idea, a piece of legislation, a social movement, an intervention, or some combination of them.

James A. Phills Jr., Kriss Deiglmeier, & Dale T. Miller Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2008

Transmedia Activism

Using Transmedia to Create Social Impact

Issue Awareness Engagement Action Change

AudiencesCommunities

Actionable ContentStory Universe

Transmedia Activism

The Benefits of Transmedia to Social Action

Transmedia Ac-vism

Entry Points

Architecture:User JourneysStrategy, Coordination, Integration

Engagement | Participation

Story BuildingCo-CreationCo-ProductionCollaborationMultiple (Diverse) Perspective

“By collectivizing ownership of narrative, transmedia breaks down the “us” and “them”

It is no longer “you” supporting ”our” work to help “them.” Rather, it is all of us working together to meet and overcome a challenge”

--David Jammy

Transmedia Activism

Why is This Important?

Transmedia Ac-vism

+ How to Tell a Story+ How to Tell a Story Together+ How to Tell a Story of a System, of Complexity+ How to Tell a Story that is ++ an Element of Change ++ a Predicate for a Movement

Transmedia Ac-vism

Social Action: Essential Story Element

Why is This Important?

Narrative + Social ActionAssessing Your Social Change Model

Co-designing narrative with social action is a challenging exercise in achieving simple, engaging stories that yet capture nuance, complexity, and multiple perspectives. In any social

change campaign where you co-design narrative with action to create positive impact in a community, ask yourself if your

campaign meets these three conditions:

+ Respect+ Relevance+ Resonance

Full model available at http://www.slideshare.net/lksriv/the-3-rs-co

Transmedia Ac-vism

Transmedia Ac-vism

+ It has at its core the use of local voice, in direct partnership with the platform creators, aiming at community-centered participation.

+ It uses its platform to move beyond awareness, to connect audiences and change agents to commit to a particular worldview, advocacy or action, by using these local stories and art.

+Uses a number of platforms that are culturally appropriate to cross borders to foster transformation.

What I Look for in Transmedia Activism Projects

Transmedia Ac-vism

Who Is Dayani Cristal?Transmedia Ac-vism

Inside Comayagua Prison, Honduras

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Content Production

+ Lakou Mizik music+ Lakou Mizik webisodes+ Lakou Mizik Sessions

Distribution platforms

+ Album + Concert film shot in a classic Haitian outdoor “Lakou”+ Website: music discovery and marketplace for musicians+ Short-form interactive documentary films on featured musicians+ LM “episodes” (downloadable song, short film+music video)+ Media for television and film festivals+ LM Collective music tour both in Haiti and internationally+ Dedicated YouTube channel+ SoundCloud (download, streaming, remix)

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Social Music Platforms:

+ Community engagement

+ Cutting through noise

+ Creating and harnessing empathy

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Social Action

+ Tangibles: Culture RegenerationEconomic DevelopmentCommunity Vibrancy | “Leave Behinds”++ Direct paths to action, where suitable++ Lakou Mizik Marketplace++ Lakou Mizik Studio++ Education, Training, Networking

+ Intangibles: Awareness-Raising:++"Positive awareness" + "empathy": Shifting the narrative to a more positive picture of Haiti++ Cohesive picture of systemic change, through musicians’ stories about issues in their communities

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Social Action

+ Developed in collaboration with grassroots organizations working to address the social issues raised in the Lakou Mizik films

+These will focus on positive work being done by Haitian organizations

+In this way we will both be addressing difficult realities while also continuing to focus on positive Haitian stories

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Tounen Lakay (by Beken)

+ Haitians in-country+ Haitian Diaspora + Fans of World music+ Fans of Caribbean music+ Arts/activism+ People who helped post-earthquake and who need to reengage

Transmedia Activism

Audiences | Fans:

Lakou Mizik

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Transmedia Activism

Lakou Mizik

Transmedia Ac-vism

+ Intellectual property concerns

+ Gulf between theory, critique, and practice

+ Love of the platform and technology

Risks and Challenges

Transmedia Ac-vism

Risks and Challenges

+ Intentionality

+ Creating rigor and around and recognizing the intentionality behind "citizen" media

+ Parsing out the fine lines between story to engagement to propaganda

+ Bridging the engagement/action gap.

Lina Srivastava

http://linasrivastava.cominfo@linasrivastava.com

@lksriv