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Digital Archive for Storytelling
Storytelling is powerful, yet numerous personal stories are hidden or unheard in reality.
Takuya Kitazawa
May 05, 2025
In partnership with
đź’– This week's byte: Storytelling is powerful, yet numerous personal stories are hidden or unheard in reality. A US-based nonprofit, StoryCorps, has addressed the challenge by developing a digital archive to collect and share personal stories across the US, so that they can foster connection and understanding among us.
đź“Š Did You Know?
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that “nearly 300 million people around the world will need humanitarian assistance and protection” in 2024. However, it is unlikely that we can read the personal stories of each one of the 300 million people. By the end of humanitarian projects, organizations are more likely to consolidate the results into statistical figures and showcase selected stories from a tiny fraction of the people.
đź“– The Story
Who, When, and Where — Context
Since 2003, a US-based charity, StoryCorps, has collected individual stories nationwide.
Why — Challenge
Storytelling is a powerful tool to illuminate our world's endless possibilities. However, even though everyone’s story matters, whether it’s positive or not, many individuals’ stories are often unheard. In reality, for one’s story to be heard today, one must be lucky, rich, have a status, and/or have a loud voice.
What and How — Tech Solution
StoryCorps started building a digital archive of human stories in the US. Across the country, they let “ordinary people” speak about their experiences and record their authentic narratives. The recordings are collected in the U.S. Library of Congress, as well as broadcast weekly on National Public Radio.
đź’ˇ Key Insights
💌 Authentic stories represent humanity. Positive or negative, big or small, love or hate—Stories represent reality, and firsthand insights speak a lot about human nature.
đź’Ş Stories are the power to make a change. As StoryCorps noted, it can even rewrite the narrative of our society to bridge divides, heal communities, and strengthen families.
🎥 There are numerous unspoken or unheard stories. A narrative we see today is crafted by its producer, and they intentionally develop and deliver the message through strategic creation. The intention determines what becomes visible vs. invisible.
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âś… Try This
Read a story from StoryCorps’ story archive and/or listen to their NPR episode.
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💠Share your thoughts: Is there any problem or unintended consequence of StoryCorps’ approach to storytelling? It could be about their narrative, methodology, or systematic limitations.
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