Why is it important to make sure that emerging media and communications technologies are created by people from a wide variety of backgrounds and identities? The media we consume has an enormous impact on our perception of reality. With this toolkit, we are trying to achieve something that humans have not yet achieved in the history of mass media — fair and equitable representation of the world’s stories and images.

alternatives to the standard “closed ending“

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a digital festival celebrating narrative games

Augmented and virtual reality can be an incredible tool when it comes to practicing certain skills that may not be safe or realistic in real life. AR and VR technologies are radically changing L&D as an industry. This research report, Augmented and Virtual Reality for Behavior Change, by Julie Dirksen, Dustin DiTommaso, and Cindy Plunkett explores how AR and VR can be a great resource for behavior change. The report examines key research on this, centered on the following themes: Enabling the Behavior Empathy Building Experiencing Consequences Future Projection Feedback Emotional Self-Regulation Download this report to discover how AR and VR solutions are a useful investment for behavior change.

In its first episode, the series presents the universe of New York's immersive theater from the standpoint of actors, dancers, and other performers who have become the biggest names in the genre. Focusing on the mega hit “Sleep No More” and the groundbreaking “Here”, the episode explores the artists' relationship with the audience and the mystery behind the immersive productions.

Every research paper tells a story, but the pressure to provide ‘clean’ narratives is harmful for the scientific endeavour.

5 key principles

And as to the central question of using both fear and hope: “I think we're in a moment where fear is a stronger motivator than hope,“ Parfrey began. “I'm looking at the evidence. I'm looking at Greta Thunberg. There is a tinge of the apocalypse in her framing.“ But Parfrey was quick to add that fear, by itself, isn't the only button to press. “The data is clear on this,“ he said. “The more dire the messages sound, the more individuals will tuneout. And I say this with full-knowledge that the climate picture is dire. You have to be honest, you have to present the sobering information, yet we still have the choice before us to dramatically improve the situation or make it worse. The choice is still ours.“

LESSON 1: SHIFT THE FRAME FROM PORTRAIT TO LANDSCAPE. (this is part of a 3-post blog series on message framing)

Plus list of resources for designing interactive voice interfaces

focus on single person

We realized we were using insider language to describe innovation (as exemplified by internal blog post titles like “Using GIS Technology to Map Shelter Allocation in Azraq Refugee Camp”), rather than communicating what innovation looks like and the benefits it would bring to UNHCR staff (for example, “How UNHCR Used Creativity to Improve Journalistic Accuracy and Collaboration, One Step at a Time”). So, we hit the reset button and asked ourselves these four questions before crafting our internal communications strategy: What do we want to change? What do we want to be true that isn’t true right now? Whose behavior change is necessary to making that happen? Who has to do something (or stop doing something) they’re not doing now for us to achieve that goal? (This is about targeting a narrowly defined audience whose action or behavioral change is fundamental to your goal.) What would that individual or group believe if they took that action? In other words, what does that narrowly defined audience care about most, and how can we include that in our messages? How will we get that message in front of them? Where are their eyes?

Released in March as part of FrameWorks Institute’s 20th anniversary, the Explanation Declaration asks communicators to help people understand the “how” behind issues and see that how as a critical part of engaging and empowering people to take action.

News media often frame refugees as a burden or threat to a community, where humanitarian stories often frame refugees as helpless people in a far-off land in need of help. Both narratives — while sympathetic — consistently situate refugees as outsiders. Our job as communicators is to shift the narrative from “us” and “them” to “we.”