Hi folks this is a call for Case Studies for this inaugural conference
which will be held within the International Storytelling Festival,
Singapore.
Call for Case StudiesIn
early 2009 we (Shawn Callahan and I) wanted to see if we could put together a conference on organisational storytelling. Our concept was for a very practical, workshop-focused conference, designed to help Asia Pacific business people apply story approaches to boost organisational performance. But we weren’t sure if anyone would come!
So we
organised a two-day masterclass on business narrative as part of The Singapore International Storytelling Festival, and the festival did a
wonderful job in telling people about the event. We waited anxiously to see if anyone would register. Did Asia Pacific organisations really value storytelling as a legitimate and effective business technique? I called Shawn in Melbourne a couple of weeks after we announced the event: registrations were coming in fast. We were booked out months in advance.
This year we want to build on that success and focus on
the many story practitioners in our region to create an event where we can learn from each other while also expanding the awareness of narrative approaches among the region's organisations. We’re looking for proposals for case study presentations from within the Asia Pacific region to share what you have done and what you have learned.
The conference has three objectives
- To build a network of practitioners to deepen the practice of storytelling and story use in organizations.
- To create awareness of the broad utility of narrative techniques for dealing with business issues, their capacity to humanise the
workplace, and to help organisations deal with complexity and
uncertainty.
- To inspire leaders to take the first steps in applying narrative techniques in their businesses.
Conference designThe event will have three parts:
Day
1 will be a closed practitioner's forum for the conference speakers and case study presenters only. We will spend the day sharing what we have learned from a practitioner's perspective. The day will be designed for dialogue rather than presentations.
Day 2 will be a public
conference where practitioners will present case studies that illustrate the effectiveness of story-work; and
Day 3 will
consist of a set of 1/2 day workshops to enable attendees to build their business story skills in specific areas such as coaching, organisational change, leadership development and communication.
Do you have a case study to share?We
are seeking expressions of interest to share a case study at the conference. We are particularly interested in stories of working with narrative in organizations, across private, public and non-profit sectors. They should clearly illustrate the value of how stories and storytelling can be used to meet the organisation's business needs.
Case presenters will:
- Participate in the closed practitioners’ forum on 6 September
- Share their case study in round table discussions in the morning of 7 September
- Offer to share a technique they have successfully used in a “techniques marketplace” session in the afternoon of 7 September
How we will select the case studiesWe will select case studies based on:
- richness of the case for learning
- transferability of the lessons
- demonstrated impact
- innovative approaches
- geographic representation
- representation of different kinds of organization
Please send a short description (a couple of paragraphs) to both Patrick Lambe (plambe@straitsknowledge.com)
and Shawn Callahan (shawn@anecdote.com.au) before
22nd March. We’re also happy to trade ideas by email or Skype if you want to develop an idea before you decide to put a more formal description together.
Shawn Callahan
Patrick Lambe