feedback? "Stories" & ABCD - Updated Asset Map + Storytelling Infographic

April Doner
April Doner
@april-doner
5 years ago
54 posts

Hi all,


I wanted to share a couple of resources I've been working on and also invite feedback / conversation around the topic of Stories & ABCD community-building. (It is a passion of mine and a has always been pretty integral part of my own ABCD practice.)


For an online ABCD course I'm creating for libraries right now, I wanted to use the "classic" ABCD map drawing with circles, triangles and other simple symbols -- but also realized that it needed updating to include stories and the two-way arrow of exchange. I started with the digitized version I think i got from the original ABCD Slides shared with me waaay back when, and added the arrows as well as a purple thread which was the best symbol I could think of! I tried to design the new "stories" asset in a way that shows how stories and culture are connected to and can also serve to further connect all of the other existing assets in a community.


I'm also attaching a kind of rough infographic sketch I created with help from a team of other colleagues (De'Amon Harges, Deb Wisniewski and Melissa Browning) for a project I'm working on for libraries and museums project as part of a webinar we held on "Storytelling and Community Engagement." It was a first-stab attempt at bringing together my and some of the ABCD IMLS team's insights on how this precious asset can be valuable and seen as part of our work. It'd be fun to find the resources to clean this up further -- I may be able to find them within my current project but not totally sure at this point...  Perhaps as part of a small toolkit we share with the grantees but could be also featured on the ABCD website for broader use.


Toward that -- I'd love to hear the thoughts of anyone who shares my passion for this topic about the info-graphic, or what it brings to mind regarding the topic of stories and community-building given your own experiences as storytellers and witnesses of ABCD processes & growing citizen power. And of course if you have great asset map graphics you've been using, or ways you love using it in trainings or in building community, please share here too!



~ April



EXTRA NOTES:

- The "Classic Asset Map" addition was an admittedly quick and simple graphic but since the original graphic is pretty simple, I figured it works pretty well! If i were to work on it more, I may work on the opacity so that the blue "place" box does not show through the purple line. If you see any use for this and think that would make it look better, I'd be happy to do that extra bit of work on it and share again. 


- I know some beautiful versions of the classic map have been created (I know if Mike Green's and by Ron Dwyer-Voss's company Pacific Community Solutions -- also attached here). I love using them, but I also find beauty and value in the classic map is its simplicity and the fact that anyone can draw it. I really like drawing it during in-person trainings and building it "live" as we explore each component. I also like tools that anyone can create without fancy technology or special artistic skills so it can be used by anyone and everyone.


updated by @april-doner: 10/31/19 12:54:16PM
Ivis Garcia Zambrana
Ivis Garcia Zambrana
@ivis-garcia-zambrana
5 years ago
6 posts

Thanks for sharing! I love the graphic which shows what stories should include in order to be citizen-center and about assets. At the top, you show how stories they selves are assets. From the institutional perspective, they can help promote the stories of residents. 


Is the purple shape the stories? I like it! 
April Doner
April Doner
@april-doner
5 years ago
54 posts

Thank you so much Ivis!!!

I'm happy to hear you think the graphic makes sense.  :-)

The purple shape is, indeed, meant to represent stories. I was looking for something that would be (a) not to hard for anyone to draw and (b) capture how stories are something that are both connected to and can serve to CONNECT all of the other kinds of local assets.... hopefully without making the overall map look too messy!

Ivis Garcia Zambrana
Ivis Garcia Zambrana
@ivis-garcia-zambrana
5 years ago
6 posts

I like the purple contribution! I am going to use it! 

Janine Ward
Janine Ward
@janine-ward
5 years ago
4 posts

Hi April, I love your picture and would love to incorporate it in our training events. We focus on stroytelling as the first part of engaging with a group (Appreciative Inquiry) and our storytelling techniques include using the Tree of Life which is very powerful. If we are in a single geographic area, we also use the Timeline to find out the history of the place - also very powerful. 

I love how you say that shifting the power to the citizens - making the invisible visible - is most effectively done using storytelling. 

In South Africa, we desperately need to hear each other and learn to listen to each other, as well as being given the safe space to tell our stories. I am very passionate about this too - and I have become a "human book" with the Human Library global movement - another great way to share stories and break down the single story (stereotypes & prejudice). 

Thanks again for sharing!

Ivis Garcia Zambrana
Ivis Garcia Zambrana
@ivis-garcia-zambrana
2 years ago
6 posts

Thanks for your comments and ideas. See the final product: http://plan.cap.utah.edu/gentrification_assessment/

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