We are City Hall's Community Engagement team and our mission is to bridge the gap between City Hall and London's communities. Our team works on giving communities a platform to be seen, heard, resourced, and to be more actively engaged in the City’s decision making.
In July 2023 we hosted a weeklong series of conversations, challenges, and thought provocations to help us explore how we think about and ‘do’ participation in policymaking, both online and in person across London. Below is piece written by one of the participants:
Your Voice Matters:
The Importance of Community Storytelling
Saboohi Bukhari
It was a warm Monday afternoon in July, and the sun was beaming in through the glass of The Crystal, the Greater London Authority’s (GLA’s) new home in the Royal Docks. I filled my coffee cup and a small plate with fresh fruit and pastries, and found a seat amongst the community engagement leaders, policymakers, artists, and researchers there to learn ‘How to use insights to tell a community’s story’.
The transformative power of storytelling and its potential to bring about change has been at the forefront of our thinking at The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP), and mine, in particular. I grew up in a household of passionate and expressive women. My younger sister, while completely non-verbal, was just as communicative as the rest of us, but she struggled to be heard outside of our home. People didn’t always take the time to read her body language, facial expressions, and eye movements, and as a result, they missed out on what she had to say and her unique point of view.
I believe that personal stories are an entry point to understanding a different experience of the world, and I was looking forward to learning how other organisations were approaching the subject.
At the GLA event, we heard from The Wellcome Policy Lab who were focused on storytelling formats, exploring the idea of using games instead of group discussions, performance instead of digital documents. Creating Ground use art and drama to share the experiences of migrant women and help them overcome difficulties. Canopy are using imaginary work to engage communities in every stage of policy, from design to evaluation.
Evidently, art and creativity play a huge part in storytelling and can be an effective way to get people often overlooked, to open up and express themselves. It can also be an effective way to break through the noise and capture the attention of time-poor decision-makers.
At TSIP, our storytelling programme is largely focused on giving our community members ownership of their own story. Providing a platform where they can share the things that matter to them in an authentic way is a critical component of our community-led, participatory, democratic, and inclusive ethos.
To do this, we have partnered with On Our Radar, an award-winning media organisation whose mission who work with unheard communities amplifying their voices and stories so they can shape the future. Together we are delivering storytelling training sessions and building a reporter network for The Giving Lab community members to receive ongoing support, coaching, and mentoring throughout their journey.
By providing community members with the skills and tools they need to tell their own stories, and helping them recognise that their voice matters, we aim to build their confidence and give them an opportunity to participate in the changes they want to see take shape around them.
Tobi King Bakare, Mr Reed, and Jayda David are three young spoken word artists who are amongst the most impressive storytellers I have ever seen. We were privileged to see them perform before the day wrapped up. One by one they got up on stage and shared what their London was. They spoke to themes of racial segregation, poverty, and social injustice, leaving few dry eyes in the audience. Their narratives, while all too common, are often the ones that get ignored, and were yet another reminder of why our work in amplifying marginalised voices is so important.
The GLA put on a great day. Wonderfully moderated, balanced, and inclusive. There were ample opportunities for networking, and even a dedicated prayer room where I was able to take a moment to reflect. Before heading home, I made sure to take one of the cable cars overlooking the Thames, something I had never done before. It felt like a VIP experience riding alone and staring out at the water beneath me. I video-called my family to share the experience with them. It was the perfect ending to an enriching day.
Stay tuned for more stories on how The Giving Lab’s community-led fund is igniting positive change.
We want this to be a space to tell the stories of the communities we work with, to celebrate Londoners and to share how their experiences are fed into the work going on at City Hall.
Read more about the work of the Community Engagement team and the work we do to support London's Civil Society.
To get in touch, please email [email protected].