Open Session: Narratives for Systems Change & Culture Hacking
The introductory session provided a comprehensive overview of narrative-led systems change, built on the principle that “if you change the narrative, you change the system.” Teams learned that narratives are interpretive social structures that frame what we see and guide what we do, operating largely on an unconscious level. The current meta-crisis stems from a deeper cultural paradigm that commodifies life and reinforces separation, requiring both justice work (addressing structural inequities) and ontological shifts (new ways of being and relating to the world). We invite you to become acquainted with the context of the metacrisis before becoming acquainted with the Culture Hack Labs Methodology by watching these introduction videos. We also share our approach to narrative-led systems change.
The Culture Hack methodology was introduced as a five-step iterative process: Ask (developing point of view), Listen (data collection through big and small listening), Understand (mapping narrative communities and power dynamics), Recode (developing narrative strategy), and Hack (creative implementation to seed culture change). Each step builds on the previous while remaining flexible and alive.
The session featured an extensive case study of the 2018 Texcoco Airport campaign in Mexico, demonstrating how Culture Hack worked with Indigenous communities to reframe a government consultation from “airport here or there” to “I prefer the lake.” Watch the #YoPrefieroElLago documentary here. This narrative intervention contributed to a 22-year struggle that ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the airport and the creation of an ecological reserve 41 times the size of Central Park. The slides for this presentation can be found here.
Key Information for Potential Applicants:
- Fellowship runs June-November with 90-minute sessions every two weeks (Thursdays 11am Mexico time)
- Mandatory in-person gathering in Costa Rica (September)
- Teams of at least 2 people required
- No cost to participants
- Projects can be local or transnational
- Application opens May 2nd, deadline May 16th
Next Session: May 2nd – Fellowship application details and project pathway discussions.