How do the stories you tell shape public perception? This month, we challenge you to take control of the narrative.
💡 Below you'll find this month's Community Challenge, as well as a case study on how shifting perspectives can create real change.
Our challenge to you:
Think about your own work. Is it already part of narrative change? Maybe it is. But take time to pause and reflect: are you reinforcing dominant narratives, or actually shifting them?
Your community challenge this month is to identify one message, story, or theme in your work that could be reframed in a more hopeful way.
How to reframe a narrative in 3 steps:
Step 1: Identify a dominant narrative in your field. Example: If your sector always talks about climate change as a crisis, could you highlight climate solutions instead?
Step 2: Shift the story using a hope-based approach. Check previous issues of the REWIRE Democracy newsletter for inspiration and guidance. Example: Instead of focusing only on barriers for migrants, share stories of successful community building and care.
Step 3: Rewrite the narrative. Try rewriting a post or message you’ve already shared, but with a hope-based perspective. Drop it below so we can all learn from each other!
💡 Inspiration in Action
Case study: Rewriting the Roma narrative in Bulgaria with hope
By Ani Kovacheva, activist in Bulgaria
As a civil society activist, I am constantly surrounded by discussions of social challenges, whether from those experiencing them firsthand or fellow activists raising awareness. And I’ve always believed my role was to highlight these problems and make them known.
The same applied to my community: when I thought about the Roma community in Bulgaria, my mind immediately turned to its struggles.
My name is Ani Kovacheva, and I am a student at the American University in Bulgaria. Civil society work is my hobby and my passion. I volunteer for a local organization in my hometown called the LARGO Association. Although it's a small, local organization, its work has a wide reach. We primarily focus on health, education, and civic development issues related to the Roma community in Bulgaria, with a particular emphasis on the South-Western region, where we are based.
Over the years, I've seen firsthand the challenges faced by Roma communities: structural discrimination, lack of access to education and healthcare, and the persistent negative narratives that shape public perceptions. But it wasn’t until my participation in the REWIRE Incubator that I realized how much these narratives shaped not only external perceptions but also my own approach to activism.
A turning point for me came when we were introduced to the concept of hope-based communication by Thomas Coombes. He shared the story of a protest song in Chile that mobilized citizens to vote against a dictatorship. Its positivity was contagious. Even without understanding Spanish, I felt its power! It was proof that hope isn’t just an emotion; it’s a strategy for change.
💛 Hope-based messaging throughout history 💛
The Chilean ‘No’ campaign used hope-based messaging with the slogan ‘La alegria ya viene’ (Joy is on the way) to counter fear-driven narratives, ultimately helping to defeat Pinochet’s dictatorship in the 1988 plebiscite. Listen here:
This perspective shift transformed my work. I had been working with a colleague on a film about Roma people, but we hadn’t defined its focus. Public perception in Bulgaria often paints Roma communities as uneducated, uncultured, and separate from the rest of society. We wanted to challenge these stereotypes, but through REWIRE, we realized that focusing on struggles alone wouldn’t achieve that. Instead, we embraced a hope-based approach: showcasing not just the challenges, but also the joy, cultural richness, and contributions of Roma individuals to Bulgarian society.
Now, our film aims to reframe the public narrative, offering an authentic, hopeful portrayal of Roma life. Our goal is to bridge the gap by emphasizing similarities while celebrating our uniqueness.
Hope-based communication taught me that narratives shape not just how others see us, but how we see ourselves. It doesn’t ignore challenges—it empowers us to speak about the future we want to build instead of just reacting to problems.
To other activists feeling overwhelmed by the challenges in their communities, I’d say: immerse yourself in stories of hope. Watch, read, and listen to examples of those who have successfully driven change. Hearing stories like the song from Chile doesn’t just inspire me, it makes me feel hope physically.
The stories we tell others and ourselves are important, and if we want people to believe in a better future, we need to show them what that future could look like.
Ready to join this week’s challenge?
💬 Think about a narrative you’re ready to challenge. Then, try your hand at rewriting a past post you’ve shared with a more hope-based message. Drop the result in the comments below!
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