Storify the city: making hard stories tellable
Urban change is full of stories, but some of the most important are also the hardest to tell. Climate action, democratic participation, heritage and long-term transformation rarely follow a simple path. They involve uncertainty, disagreement, contested meanings and slow or sometimes invisible change—elements that are often difficult to communicate and therefore disappear from official narratives.
This interactive session begins with a simple question: when a story is difficult to tell, is the problem the story itself—or the way we structure and choose to tell it?
In a live conversation, four URBACT networks—Agents of Co-Existence, ARCHETHICS, Hydro-Heritage Cities and Cities After Dark—share challenging stories from their urban-change journeys. Each story begins with a different task: giving citizens agency, holding multiple meanings, making an overlooked place visible, or challenging a dominant narrative.
Through two connected rounds, the speakers first open their stories by introducing the protagonists, audiences and tensions. They then reveal the turning points, emerging changes and formats that helped their stories travel. Short audience polls and reflections will explore how narrative arc and visual, digital, participatory, audio and experiential formats can make complex urban change more meaningful, accessible and engaging. The session closes with a live musical contribution, demonstrating how stories can also move through sound, rhythm and shared experience.
Guest cities: Kekava (LV), Sombor (RS), Vila Nova de Cerveira (PT), Nicosia (CY), Banja Luka (BA)