Beyondstorytelling

Hosted by a community of experts from fields as diverse as change and organizational transformation, marketing, branding and communication, knowledge management, art creation and organizational learning BEYOND STORYTELLING aims to explore and innovate narrative work in organizations, communities and beyond, and to ignite a dialogue across professions.

Founded in 2017 around a book project, we parallely started with a conference on narrative work and storytelling in Heidelberg. Seeking to expand the notion of what a conference is and can be – moving through Hamburg (2018) to Lingenau (2019) with an accompanying READER, a small village in Austria for a new – and so far our wildest – camp format. The 4th conference edition in May 2020 with the title POWER OF STORY | STORIES OF POWER we had to postpone due to corona. An inspiring READER is available in our bookstore. Regarding our event in May 2021 we have learned our corona lessons and recently continued with smaller, camp-like events, like in Paretz (2021) and Goldegg (2022) - again with a congenial pillow book.

We are a dedicated core team and together with a global, vibrant community of storyworkers from all fields, we continue to explore the edges of the field of narrative work in organizations, communities and beyond. Here we invite you to walk the timeline of our sparkling events.

Enjoy the journey with us!

BEYOND STORYTELLING 2017 – our conference in Heidelberg

Our first conference in Heidelberg 2017 grew out of a book project on narrative work and storytelling in organizations. In a transdisciplinary setting workshops, key notes and open sessions explored the many ways in which we can work with stories in organizations. The field of contributors already spanned the globe and different professions, adressing topics ranging from leadership to brand strategy, from knowledge management to designing and narrating change journeys.

Setting up in Heidelberg, the raw atmosphere of a start-up hub served as the backdrop to an artful and joyful exploration of the field of narrative work in organizations and beyond. Given the beautiful and positive resonance from the community of participants, we had no choice in continuing our journey. Find more information on the program and the contributors to BEYOND STORYTELLING 2017 here.

BEYOND STORYTELLING 2018 – Our conference in Hamburg

With the theme "Re-Authoring Futures" we questioned, probed and explored narrative approaches in working with the future in organizations and communities. True change and innovation rests on our ability to re-imagine and re-author the futures we want to live into – to open new perspectives and new ways of thinking, being and doing.

We further explored ways to deepen our understanding of the topic: a series of interviews and writings before the conference provided the basis for a wonderful reader and rich online content we published under the header “Mapping the field”.

With contributors and participants from the Americas, Asia and Europe, we further fostered our international network and community and strengthened the transdisciplinarity of the conference. See the whole program here.

BEYOND STORYTELLING 2019 – our storycamp in Lingenau

After our first two (non-) conferences in Heidelberg and Hamburg we didn’t want to be in bondage of a dominant scaling narrative. Instead we were searching for an additonal format that allows us to dive deeper into specific topics of our profession and provide to ourselves and accomplices in the field a free space to reflect, co-create together and inspire each other.

Therefore we designed a small and delicate 4-day-research-format in LINGENAU/Austria 2019 as an exciting opportunity for all participants to dive deeper and expand their thinking and practices. Together with 50+ story workers from around the globe we explored the many ways in which we work with and through stories in different fields: from politics to poetics, from marketing to documentary films, from knowledge management to organizational constellations.

The two days have been rich in content, connection and creativity. As in the last years, we harvested some of the topics, themes and impressions from our time together.

PARETZ was a wonderful restart after Corona. Close to Berlin, a village where no one comes by chance. And, as a kind of dead end, the perfect place for our StoryCamp. In any case, no one got lost there by chance.
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collected PARTICIPANTS feedback to PARETZ …

“We were telling stories and experienced to be connected. You gave us the perfect and inspiring frame and shared your knowledge. I will come back.”

“It was a special event with a strong community spirit. I learned a lot about the camp format, about hosting an event, about tools and methods for storytelling, about fellow earth inhabitants and their stories and I experienced the magic of storytelling!”

GOLDEGG. The sunny plateau high above the Salzach valley. Secluded and cosmopolitan in one. In the midst of the Salzburg mountains. With the castle as its spiritual and cultural center. And in front of it a picturesque little lake. Somehow perfect.

At the beginning of the summer in 2022 we gathered there. The proven frame of the StoryCamp was again filled with the aspirations, inspirations and ideas of storyworkers of all fields.

Some of the feedback To GOLDEGG …

“It was rejuvenating. Mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Special: The select group of people, wonderful facilitation, openness. Learn: how to better interact with others, how to think around stories (personal and organizational alike).”

“A great place to meet wonderful People, to go in touch with them, to hear and tell amazing stories, to learn for my personal transformation prozess how to do the next steps and to keep an incredible amount of positive energy to realize those steps on my way. Thank you all so much.”.”