𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? I was invited by UN Global Compact Network Netherlands to explore this question by facilitating a storytelling workshop.

I guided sustainability managers from various companies through a short, focused visual storytelling session during the Climate Peer Learning program of UN Global Compact. Together, we stepped away from familiar frameworks and into a more creative space: using collage-making and “postcards from the future” to reflect on stakeholder and value chain engagement😊

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘀𝗸?
Because it helps to:
• Clarify ideas & processes
• Unlock creativity
• Create space for sharing & reflection

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀?
• Participants created collages and connected “postcards from the future”, i.e. 𝚝̲𝚊̲𝚗̲𝚐̲𝚒̲𝚋̲𝚕̲𝚎̲ ̲𝚎̲𝚡̲𝚙̲𝚛̲𝚎̲𝚜̲𝚜̲𝚒̲𝚘̲𝚗̲𝚜̲ of their visions for stakeholder engagement. Hearing that some teams plan to share these within their companies is gold because it means the work continues beyond the workshop!
• While these concrete outputs matter, it is not really only about that… You might guess it, 𝚝̲𝚑̲𝚎̲ ̲𝚙̲𝚛̲𝚘̲𝚌̲𝚎̲𝚜̲𝚜̲ ̲𝚘̲𝚏̲ ̲𝚖̲𝚊̲𝚔̲𝚒̲𝚗̲𝚐̲ plays a vital role. Cutting, tearing, arranging reused materials such as old newspapers and magazines in intentional ways are embodied, hands-on activities that offer a break from screens and spark new perspectives.

𝟮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱:
• Allowing more time for reflection before and after the creative process deepens insights
• Linking creative outputs more explicitly to business decisions strengthens their relevance
I am currently developing a 𝘎𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘴. Feel free to message me if you’d like to learn more.

Thank you to UN Global Compact for the invitation, and thanks so much to all participants for your openness and engagement in this creative activity!