Storytelling plays a significant role in shaping how migration, identity and lived experience are understood across research, education, policy and public discourse. However, the ways in which stories are collected, interpreted and shared are never neutral. They are shaped by power, context and institutional practice.
These workshops invite participants to critically examine the ethical dimensions of storytelling, particularly when engaging with lived experience.
Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, including anthropology and critical theory, the workshop explores key questions such as:
- Who has the authority to tell a story, and under what conditions?
- How is consent negotiated, and what does it mean in practice?
- In what ways can storytelling reproduce or disrupt dominant narratives?
- What responsibilities do institutions hold when working with lived experience?
Participants are introduced to conceptual frameworks alongside practical approaches that support more ethical, reflexive and accountable storytelling practices.
The workshop supports participants to:
- Develop a critical understanding of power, representation and voice in storytelling
- Engage with lived experience in ways that centre dignity, agency and relational accountability
- Identify ethical tensions and navigate them with greater confidence
- Apply reflective and practice-based tools within research, teaching, communications and engagement contexts
This work is grounded in the understanding that ethical storytelling is not a fixed set of rules, but an ongoing, reflective practice shaped by relationships, context and responsibility.
“A session that stayed with me long after the room cleared.”
Moving Cultures Moving Stories 