Storytelling is a tool to empower people and communities. With the reach of digital platforms, a story that empowers one can empower the world.

By Xische Editorial, May 6, 2020

Storytelling is core to what we do at Xische. We believe that everyone is a storyteller and those of us that embrace this birthright unlock the most powerful experiences life has to offer. When you engage with the fabric of life, experience (and growth) happens naturally. This perspective is especially important for the present moment. 

With so many of us under some form of lockdown to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, stories are the glue that keeps us together. When we reflect on our storytelling capacity, whether in business or in our personal life, we are forced to face our fears head-on and find solutions. We certainly have plenty of fears from these uncertain times. 

In his latest piece for Gulf News, Xische CEO Danish Farhan explored how storytelling is a valuable tool for businesses operating during the Covid-19 pandemic. “For businesses looking to pivot to unlock new opportunities in this economic landscape,” Farhan wrote, “meaning is paramount, and stories facilitate meaning. It is not about what you can bring to the marketplace but why you are in the marketplace to begin with. I have learned that stories happen to storytellers who think deeply about the ‘why.’ Those who confront fear while embracing failure create resilience and unlock their own why.”

In this spirit, Xische has partnered with Empowering through™, a social enterprise that expands the power of storytelling to overlooked communities through digital and traditional means. By creating a platform for communities such as youth and women, the sheer power of storytelling is harnessed to create positive change. 

Over the last three years, Empowering through™ has published a wide range of books celebrating women across the Middle East and North Africa. Some of the books focus on cooking, painting, and even healthy living. By deep-diving into these topics, unique local knowledge and experience from these communities have been made available through the Empowering through™ platform. 

This model founded by Dina Saoudi and Abdulmajeed Shoman places the individual at the center of a much larger economic and social movement. Using an ecosystem approach, Empowering through™ brings stakeholders together to support individuals with economic and social empowerment through a series of projects, programs, and initiatives.

What does this mean in practice? Individuals from all communities gain knowledge, access to funding, access to markets, and generate revenue through the platform. This, in turn, increases individual self-expression and their ability to give back to the community. The power of the story remains central to all aspects of this bold plan. 

The approach is also digital. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Xische together with partners Seven Circles, a consulting agency also based in Amman, created Covid19 Stories. This unique platform is powered by Empowering through™’s digital storytelling platform and enables people from all sectors of society to share their Covid-19 experiences. 

Covid19 Stories utilizes Empowering through™’s innovative digital storytelling platform to share global stories with a simple objective: to give back by celebrating our shared experiences during the time of isolation around the world in the form of real stories from real people. 

At this time of global economic contraction and a radical rethinking, Empowering through™’s mission is one that all of us can get behind. Its power lies in its simplicity. We are excited to partner with this inspiring organization at this critical juncture as we firmly believe that the power of storytelling is one of the most important tools to get us through this difficult time.