2023 Equator Prize: Community Dialogues and Training

Day 2 - Mastering Communications

Tuesday, October 3, 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM New York Time      

Day 2 of the Community Dialogues focused on enhancing participants' communication and storytelling abilities. Diego Ochoa, UNDP Program Advisor, guided participants through strategies for effective storytelling, including crafting elevator pitches and presentation techniques. The session emphasized the importance of combining intellectual and emotional elements to create impactful narratives that captivate donors and policymakers.

The discussion on storytelling began with the question, "What is a story?" Community members, such as Parfait Mugisha from PVC Burundi (Burundi) and Roberto Ballon from KGMC (Philippines), shared insights on using stories to communicate their mission and connect with communities.

Participants also shared their own stories. Carl Gakran from Instituto Zág (Brazil) spoke about storytelling traditions in Indigenous communities, while youth representatives Teodoro J'anco and Dayana Blanco from Uru Uru Team (Bolivia) emphasized their efforts to protect Uru Uru Lake using traditional knowledge. Roberto Ballon discussed mangrove restoration in the Philippines and its positive impact on livelihoods.

The session then shifted to elevator pitches, where participants first practiced delivering initial, impromptu summaries of their organization's mission. Diego emphasized the need for clarity, brevity, and audience awareness in these pitches. Several participants, including Parfait, Dayana, and Roberto, presented their initial attempts, focusing on refining clarity, brevity, and audience engagement. Feedback was provided on aspects such as video length, posture, and eye contact. Participants were then assigned as homework the task of recording 30-second elevator pitches for review, incorporating the tips and feedback they had received.