Multicultural Storytelling Toolkit
Multicultural Storytelling: A New Process for Community Engagement
The quality of engagement between institutions and the communities they serve largely determines whether policies and programs reflect the interests of all groups. In 2006, the Minneapolis Health Department (MHD) developed a community advisory committee reflective of the predominant racial/ethnic groups residing in Minneapolis. This Urban Health Agenda Community Advisory Committee was charged with helping the department develop a new community engagement model.
To this end, the department embarked upon a partnership to pilot a multicultural health storytelling project.
Background
The Multicultural Storytelling Toolkit grew out of a series of ethnic-specific inter-generational storytelling events held in Minneapolis. Ten storytelling events were held and videotaped with members of the: African American, American Indian, Caucasian, Hmong, Latino, Somali, and Vietnamese communities. Gender-specific events were held in the African American and Somali communities. The focus of the events was to tell us about a time when your family/community was healthy.
The department and advisory committee completed a short video synopsis of the events which also emphasizes the power of stories and listening in order to begin taking action. While 6 dominant themes are highlighted throughout the video, the uniqueness of each different cultural group is also illustrated. Since many stories were shared in the native languages of the respective communities, English subtitles are provided within the video.
Goals
- To assist health/human service professionals to improve their responsiveness to multicultural communities
- To increase understanding of how multicultural communities define health as a result of a local initiative
- To teach health/human service professionals how to use storytelling as a community engagement process with communities they serve
Why Use This Toolkit?
Benefits of Using Multicultural Storytelling
- Preferred way to share information in most communities
- Input from the community improves health delivery
- Empowers storytellers and community members to be actively involved in their health and healing
- Draws attention towards and respect of untapped skills, talents and assets community members possess
- Builds long-term relationships more easily among professionals and the communities they serve
- Promotes inclusiveness and determines meaning behind quantitative data
- Certified Promising Practice by National Association of County & City Health Officials
What Distinguishes Our Storytelling Process?
- Strength-based
- Intergenerational
- Culturally and linguistically-tailored
- Storytelling events are led by members of the community
- Community members analyze the meaning of the stories
- Cross-cultural process strengthens collective voice and trustful relationships among professionals, institutions and communities they serve
Multicultural Storytelling Toolkit
Minneapolis Health Department and their community partners have developed this teaching resource for educators, current and future health and human service users in non-profit organizations, state, county and local government departments and private organizations involved in the health and human services fields.
The toolkit includes the following:
- Video (17:10 minutes)
- A Guide that includes:
- Three teaching modules
1. Increase understanding of Health in multicultural communities
2. The 10-step storytelling process
3. Try the storytelling process - Sample PowerPoint presentation re: 10 Steps in Using a Multicultural
Storytelling Process - Pre- and post-storytelling event Checklist, including sample line-item budget
- Post-training Event survey
- Feedback form for toolkit
- Three teaching modules
Accommodations
Should you require a reasonable accommodation in order to fully participate, or information in an alternative format, please contact 612-673-2301.
Para asistencia 612-673-2700 - Rau kev pab 612-673-2800 - Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 612-673-3500.
Last updated Oct 23, 2018