Each of us has the power to contribute to positive change. Each of us has a responsibility to advocate for stories characterised by deep respect, full transparency, and social responsibility.

Each of us has a role in dignified storytelling. The Dignified Storytelling Pledge provides a platform for individuals and organisations to commit to practising and advocating for storytelling guided by the Dignified Storytelling Principles.

Dignified storytelling can start with the decisions made every day by individuals working in communications departments, newsrooms, programme teams and as content creators, audiences, or donors. When we individually decide to prioritise collaboration and partnerships, to choose language that is thoughtful and inclusive, to prioritise showing and telling fuller and more authentic stories, it can ripple out to transform organisational – and wider – cultures.

From the bottom up and from the top down, organisations can commit to valuing the people in the stories by embedding dignified storytelling as part of their organisational policies and practices. And as organisations make decisions to institutionalise dignified  storytelling, over time the norms of whole countries can shift to expect and value stories that centre on deep respect, full transparency, and social responsibility.

Storytelling always involves a series of choices. Each logistical, ethical, and creative choice that is made throughout story planning, gathering, developing, and publishing processes shapes the story. Dignified Storytelling is about collaboratively making small and big choices to respect and protect the agency and well-being of contributors and that result in fuller, more nuanced stories of our world.