How storytelling is blending creativity with conscience for societal change

A group of industry experts came together for a panel discussion at e4m Do Good Conference and Awards on how narratives are shaping aspirations and influencing communities

by e4m Staff
Published: May 14, 2025 1:25 PM | 5 min read

e4m Do Good Conference and Awards

In a powerful panel discussion on the role of storytelling in driving social change, voices from the development sector, grassroots organisations, and corporate CSR came together at e4m Do Good Confernence and Awards to explore how narratives are shaping aspirations, influencing communities, and catalysing transformation across underserved populations.

Smita Roy, Co-Founder of Peepal Tree Foundation, began by challenging the popular Cinderella narrative that most children grow up admiring. “What do children love about Cinderella? That she got lucky, married a prince, and lived happily ever after,” Roy said. But when her organisation conducted a storytelling session in schools and asked children what they imagined happened fifteen years after Cinderella got married, they were left with blank faces. “They could only say, she had a child,” Roy recalled.

That gap in imagination opened the door to reframe the conversation. Roy introduced them to real-life women like Kalpana Chawla and Bachendri Pal—figures who had overcome real obstacles like poverty, social constraints, and physical adversity to achieve greatness. “These are the real Cinderellas,” she emphasised. By the end of the session, not a single child wanted to be Cinderella anymore. “It wasn’t even considered prestigious,” Roy said. “They wanted to be the women who made it against all odds.”

Swati Arora, ESG Director at Concentrix, picked up the thread by talking about how aspirations evolve when exposure changes. She shared that when they began working with children from underserved backgrounds, especially girls, the early aspirations were limited—becoming a nurse, teaching in a local school, or simply being married off. “But over time, we began seeing real change. Girls now say they want to be astronauts, join the army, or become IAS officers,” she said.

Arora detailed the journey of one such girl from Hisar, Haryana, who overcame language barriers, economic hardship, and lack of resources to study at BITS Mesra. “She couldn’t even afford to attend her own felicitation because of a fractured foot and financial constraints,” she said. But with dedicated mentoring, tuition support, and her own determination, the girl eventually landed a job at Microsoft with a seven-figure salary. “What’s most striking is that each of these girls inspires at least eight others in their community,” Arora added, citing data from their outreach.

This change, the panel agreed, is not just about one successful individual but about the entire ecosystem that uplifts and supports them—families, volunteers, NGOs, and even frontline workers. The discussion moved into the importance of not limiting storytelling to the end beneficiary but also highlighting those working tirelessly behind the scenes.

Jayashree Balasubramanian, Head of Communication at Reliance Foundation shared a moving anecdote from the cyclone Dana evacuation effort in Odisha. An elderly man in his nineties refused to evacuate because he didn’t want to be a burden. “A chain of trained volunteers took turns carrying him for kilometres through slush—one carried him, another held his shoes, others managed his belongings. Eventually, they got him to a safer spot up a flight of stairs,” she said. “We often talk about 5 lakh lives evacuated, but each one of those lives represents not just a person saved but a team of people making it happen.”

It was a collective agreement among the panellists that we must look beyond statistics and headlines to truly recognise the human stories that define impact.

Priti Karandikar, Global Marketing and Communications Head at Magic Bus India Foundation, offered a unique media perspective, having previously worked with Disney. She noted how even Disney’s character arc has evolved from passive princesses like Cinderella and Snow White to self-reliant leads like Elsa, Anna, and Mulan. “These characters don’t wait for a prince; they make their own decisions. That’s the kind of story children need today,” she said.

At Magic Bus, life skills are taught using a play-based approach. Karandikar recounted an initiative from Kalmeshwar in Maharashtra where the names of over 350 girls were proudly displayed on their homes. “It changed how entire communities viewed their daughters,” she noted. She also shared an inspiring moment when girls from an extremely poor background, many without proper shoes, ran out enthusiastically to participate in sports. “They had nothing, but they had resilience. These are our real-life heroines,” she said. “They didn’t need glass slippers—they had jugad.”

The panel also addressed the importance of authenticity in storytelling. A key point discussed was that true stories resonate only when told by those who’ve lived them. Roy emphasised that sharing stories from experience builds instant trust. “When someone has lived the journey and narrates it, the listener connects deeply. That’s the power of storytelling,” she said.

In rural communities, her foundation ensures that women and children share their own stories during group sessions.“We devote five minutes at the start just to storytelling. As they realise their problems are shared by others, their burdens lighten,” she said. Roy added that the children she works with often take a simple prompt and lead the story to an entirely unexpected, inspirational direction. “Many times, I walk in intending to inspire them, and leave being the one inspired,” she said. “Storytelling, for us, becomes a conduit. It aligns everyone with the mission and keeps the purpose alive.”

The session concluded with a shared consensus that storytelling is not just a communication tool, it’s a transformational force. When done with honesty, heart, and inclusivity, stories can move mountains, reshape mindsets, and truly change the course of lives.