The Narratives We Need

Social movements across Europe face some common framing challenges. We asked over 200 campaigners—environmentalists, feminists, anti-racists, new economists, and many more—what we’re up against. Then we analysed the trends, along with our past framing work, and pulled together the lessons on five key areas:

1. What people are like: Do we talk about other people as nasty, nice, or more complex?
2. Who is in our sphere of concern: Are we promoting solidarity or charity?
3. Who is responsible for the problems we face: Do we trust them to change?
4. How the system works: How do we talk about power and resources?
5. Whether (and how) change happens: Do we show that change is possible, and celebrate the changes that have come before?