The Switchboard Stories Project

Something’s brewing at The Global Switchboard! (Besides delicious fair trade coffee from Building New Hope.) This global co-working space is coming together for something exciting and essential: storytelling.

The Switchboard Stories Project will tell the story of Switchboard members as well as the Global Engagement Community of Practice projects funded by The Sprout Fund. Creatively sharing the stories and amplifying the voices of the many different globally engaged organizations and initiatives is integral to the project.

Thomas Buell, Jr., of VERSO PARTNERS: Communications, and Daniel Alexander, of Amizade, have been busy conducting interviews, snapping photos, and shooting  videos that will be turned into a multimedia package for each organization that will then be featured on the new Switchboard website launching this May! By the end of the year, each member of The Global Switchboard as well as and Community of Practice project activities will be included in the Switchboard Stories.

“We are excited to use the latest storytelling tools to capture the good work of the Switchboard members and the Community of Practice projects,” Buell shares. “Our goal is to highlight the globally-focused efforts of people in the Switchboard, and also the really amazing Community of Practice projects that are carrying that same message of global engagement into the community at large.”

The first round of stories to grace the spotlight will be Amizade, Global Solutions Pittsburgh, the Somali Bantu Community Association, and the Pittsburgh Hispanic Development Corp. Again, by the end of the year, all of the Switchboard members will be featured on the brand new Switchboard website.

The Community of Practice projects focus on activities designed to encourage and promote global engagement efforts in the region. Here are some of the inspiring programs whose stories will also be featured in the Switchboard Stories Project:

• Keep Pittsburgh Global Campaign from GlobalPittsburgh
• 12×12: Connecting Pittsburgh to the World from Inclusant (Switchboard member)
• The Global Switchboard Service Academy from Global Solutions Pittsburgh(Switchboard member)
• From Co-Op to Cup: Conversations Over Coffee from Building New Hope(Switchboard member)
• ARYSE Pittsburgh from ARYSE
• Arsenal 360 Night from Lawrenceville United
• The Global Blueprint from The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh
• Pittsburgh Leadership Educational Exchange with Brazilian Farmer Scholars from Penn State
• Cooperation Over Competition from Ujamaa Collective
• From Camp to Care from Keep It Real

Hold on! The storytelling doesn’t stop there! After the Switchboard Stories Project is complete, plans call for opening up the process to other people and organizations in the Pittsburgh region, inviting them to use the text-photos-video format to tell their stories and further expand the reach of The Global Switchboard and the Community of Practice related to global engagement.

Check back in May for the new Switchboard website and first round of stories!