Speakers:
- Francesca Monaco, GEF IW:LEARN Senior Communications Specialist
- María Camila Léon Duque, GEF IW:LEARN Communications Manager
- IW Projects Representatives:
- Emmanuel Fontalvo, Trifinio Project
- Orange Omengan, IRBM in ASEAN countries
- Cyrine Bouafif, Emna Derouiche & Dorra Maaoui, FishEBM MED
About the Webinar:
Who here finds it challenging to communicate project results?
We know our work is important, but we struggle to go beyond describing the innovation or the activity itself. We find it hard to promote it, sell it, or simply spread the voice about our life-changing result. And why is that?
We may blame lack of time, resources, or interest. But what’s easy to forget is that the solutions we’ve worked on, often with a considerable amount of public investment, are not for us alone. Being able to share them with the right people leads to replication, wider impact, and, ultimately, helps us in our mission of making the world a better place.
So, how do we overcome this challenge?
Let’s start with communicating what we have in our hands. We run a project. We delivered results, which helped conserve an ecosystem. And we’ve probably made someone’s life better. Let’s then dive into the story of how this happened. Let’s transform them into a story our brains can easily connect with, that spark emotion, and that stand out amid the daily noise.
If this resonates with you, join us for a practical storytelling webinar on 25September. Together, we'll dive into a few storytelling techniques that you can apply immediately, and showcase inspiring international water stories from across the GE IW community.
REGISTER HERE
What you’ll learn
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
- Understand why storytelling matters for science and project communication.
- Apply a simple structure to craft engaging stories about yourwork.
- Practice turning project results into narratives that resonate with audiences.
- Strengthen yourability to engage partners and communities through storytelling.
Structure (90 minutes)
- Welcome & Objectives
- Why Storytelling Matters: stories and their role in communicating IW results and projects
- Structure of a Great Story: frameworks, examples from IW projects.
- Best Practices from the Field: stories from IW projects.
- Wrap-up & Questions: takeaways, Q&A, and resources.
Who Should Join
- GEF IW project managers, coordinators, and communications staff.
- Technical experts seeking to communicate their findings more effectively.
- Anyone involved in writing outreach materials.
Watch the recording of the webinar here
Questions and Answers from the webinar:
1. In the presented examples, audiences were communities and donors?
Cyrine: Yes, in the examples I shared, our audiences are both communities and donors.But also partners, policymakers, and technical stakeholders. Communities are at the heart of it all, since their engagement and ownership are key to making change last. Donors and institutions, on the other hand, need stories that are clear, evidence-based, and relatable so they understand why their support matters. Policymakers often require stories framed in terms of impact and alignment with national or regional goals. Each audience needs something slightly different, but the human story is what connects them all.
2. Main objectives were engaging communities or ensuring further funds?
Cyrine: The objectives definitely go beyond those two points. Yes, engaging communities and ensuring sustainability of funding are central, but storytelling also helps us:
Raise awareness about pressing challenges (like invasive species or pollution).
Demonstrate practical, scalable solutions in a way that data alone can’t.
Inspire replication in other places facing similar issues.
Build trust and credibility with partners.
So, the objective is really about amplifying impact – socially, politically, and financially.
3. Dissemination of the stories – do you use only official channels within your organizations?
We use a mix of channels. Of course, the project and partner websites, newsletters, and reports are important “official” outlets. But for wider visibility, we also invest in social media posts, short videos, and infographics to adapt stories to different audiences. Local radio, newspapers, and TV are sometimes even more powerful for reaching communities directly. And importantly, we rely on partners and networks to help cascade the stories beyond our immediate circles. In some cases, tailoring a story for a policymaker briefing or donor event can make a big difference in reaching decision-makers who may not be active on our “usual” channels.
4. How do we go beyond the bubble and reach decision makers who consume different sources?
Cyrine: This is such an important point. To go beyond the “usual suspects,” we work in two ways:
Tailoring content: Decision-makers often prefer short, fact-driven briefs enriched with a powerful story or testimonial. For the general public, human-centered narratives and visuals work better.
Strategic partnerships: Collaborating with media outlets, journalist networks, and regional platforms helps stories travel where we can’t reach directly. For example, placing an op-ed in a policy magazine or ensuring coverage in mainstream news can influence audiences outside the “water/environment bubble.”
Ultimately, storytelling is about being a bridge: between communities and decision-makers, between technical experts and the public, and between projects and new supporters.
5. How do we face competition, given that many causes already use storytelling?
Cyrine: Yes, there’s competition – countless NGOs, organizations, and even companies are telling stories every day. What makes ours stand out is authenticity and voice. We don’t try to craft a “perfect” campaign message; instead, we put the voices of people at the center and let them tell their truth. We also make an effort to innovate with formats (short reels, story maps, photo essays) to capture attention. But the real differentiator is empathy – if the audience can feel the challenge and the solution, the story cuts through the noise.
Final reflections
Two lessons really guide us:
Find the human element and show, don’t just tell. The Blue Crab story worked so well because Mohamed’s voice and journey were at the core – his challenge, his solution, and his hope.
Be a bridge, not a megaphone. Our role isn’t to speak for communities, but to help amplify their voices, in their own words, to audiences that can support and scale their solutions.
Extra resources:
- Simon Sinek, Start with Why - TED Talk. Watch here.