Maine SNAP-Ed evaluators Pamela Bruno, M.P.H., and Colleen Fuller, M.P.H., from the Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH) led a workshop on inclusive communication at the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual meeting held in Indianapolis from Oct. 9 to 14. The conference theme was “The Power of Story in Evaluation.” Practitioners from around the globe convened for idea-sharing, networking, and skill building around creating evaluation narratives.
The CEPH team joined with SNAP-Ed colleagues from South Carolina, Missouri, and North Carolina to lead a skill-building workshop entitled “Asset-Framing and Ethical Storytelling: A Practical Workshop to Advance Equity through Inclusive Narrative.” Presenters shared the key principles of asset-framing and ethical storytelling, emphasizing tangible ways to incorporate these principles into intervention implementation, evaluation, and reporting so that the narratives we tell as program implementers are accurate, aspirational, and respect the dignity of communities. The presenters defined and shared key equity concepts as developed by Trabian Shorters, Thought Leader and Creator of Asset-Framing®, and Rachel Goble, CEO of The Freedom Story and a co-curator of the Ethical Storytelling website. The workshop covered data-sharing approaches that reinforce principles of inclusion and equity, using real-world examples for practical application. Attendees were instructed on how to reflect on their own positionality, release power to the storyteller, and lift up community voice while working to reduce stigma.
Additionally, a newly developed toolkit authored by the presenters, “Ethical Storytelling & Asset-Framing: A Toolkit for Centering Equity when Communicating Programmatic Success,” was released in conjunction with the workshop. The toolkit presents a curated set of ethical storytelling and asset-framing resources to support inclusive communication practices for practitioners and evaluators.
Photo caption: Leading the workshop from UNE were Pamela Bruno, M.P.H, and Colleen Fuller, M.P.H.
For more information, contact Pamela Bruno, M.P.H., Senior Research Associate, Maine SNAP-Ed, CEPH, 207.221.4562| pbruno2@une.edu
