Changing the story together.
The OpEd Project's mission is to change who writes history, by accelerating the ideas and impact of underrepresented, necessary voices, including women - of all backgrounds. Through our Story Campaign initiative, we serve and elevate a group of voices, or viewpoints, within a concentrated time frame. Story Campaigns focus on elevating voices that are timely, vital and need to be heard. Typically, Story Campaigns focus on elevating voices in a community that may not be geographically located in one place, or linked by a single organization, or able to convene at a single time. Story Campaigns are a highly effective way to amplify a mission, cause or organization through the voices of the community (rather than through a central spokesperson).
STORY CAMPAIGNS
We will work with you (our partner) to identify the size, scope and vision of a Story Campaign (for example: to amplify 100 women scientists, working on environmental justice, over one year). If we mutually agree that it serves both our missions, we will move forward. A Campaign can target specific individuals, or it can target a specific kind of expertise, identity or background. A Campaign can also target people across the nation (that is, it is not geographically restricted to any one location), so it can be a way to connect or unite organizations or communities that are geographically dispersed. A Story Campaign takes place over multiple months (up to one year). The goal is to have clear and measurable results (op-eds and more), that track back to our partnership, and which significantly amplify the designated group.
Participants in the Story Campaign are selected by our partner (you). You may nominate individual participants directly, or you can create a simple selection process, following our model. You may select participants all at once, or on a rolling basis - the choice is yours. In many cases, partners announce the opportunity, and then invite members of their community to submit a one-paragraph response to an aspirational question - such as, How will your voice or idea change the world? Partners select those with the most compelling responses to participate in the Campaign.
Story Campaign participants may then register for any Write To Change the World workshop with open seats, in any city or date on our schedule, within one calendar year of the Campaign’s start date. Participants in the Campaign may choose to attend different workshops on different dates or in different cities (which is ideal for groups that are geographically dispersed), or the entire group may choose to attend a single workshop (or multiple workshops) in the same city altogether. The choice is yours. In our workshops, participants will have the opportunity to expand their one-paragraph response into an op-ed, with the help of our journalist mentors. They may also write about anything else they wish.
Optional: Partners have the option to connect participants virtually (thus creating a network of thought leaders, connected to their mission or organization). Partners may also, if they wish, review participants' op-eds to identify twenty finalists for a next level leadership opportunity, such as our Public Voices Fellowship.