Masterclass – “The Fresk of New Narratives”

What new narratives to mobilise collective intelligence in times of democratic crisis?

At a time when the political agenda is dominated by demagogues seeking to undermine faith in the rule of law and the foundations of democracy, and when we are surrounded by distorted news feeds, it is hard to remain confident about the future. 

With this in mind, Smarter Together organised an evening of training and collective thinking based on the well-known and robust “fresk” methodology developed for the Climate Fresk. A Fresk is a collaborative process during which participants use a large number of cards in relation to a given challenge to explain its fundamentals. 

On this basis, the group considers established, scientific facts to develop their understanding of the subject, toward the goal of raising societal awareness and action. The first such “Fresk” (a term derived from “fresco”, as the cards are laid out and organised visually) was developed to tackle the climate crises. As it’s proven its ability to educate and empower groups to engage in a complex and constructive conversation, a large number of such Fresks have been developed in other fields. 

For one evening, on October 23, 2024, Smarter Together and Dreamocracy convened some 25 civil society experts from Brussels and Paris to experiment with the “Fresque des nouveaux récits”, i.e. a “fresk of new narratives”. 

This particular fresk is meant to help participants understand the sociological, economic, psychological drivers of narratives in our lives and groups. And, on this basis, to produce their own powerful narratives for desirable and achievable futures. 

The fresk was generously facilitated by facilitators Arnaud Le Flohic and Judith Saragossi.