It’s a vibrant community where testimony is cultivated, creativity is nurtured, respectful discourse is fostered, and change is created one powerful, purposeful narrative at a time.
A narrative advocacy training at the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy.
We are survivors, witnesses, writers, advocates, artists, and allies calling injustice by its name and calling the world to confront it.
Because we are here to be heard.
During our signature two-day writing workshop, participants read and discuss testimonial writing from across history, social movements, and genres; take part in a series of real-time writing exercises; and benefit from moderated, trauma-informed workshopping of their writing. We currently offer workshops for survivors of gender-based violence; immigrants and refugees; those impacted by economic injustice and income inequality; and those impacted by racial injustice, particularly within the criminal justice system. We run workshops for both adults and youth.
Our Center for Story & Witness Narrative Advocacy Training Program was created to help allies, advocates, and activists, working on a wide range of social justice issues, think in new ways about the power, purpose, and ethics of storytelling; to consider how language and word choice can help us break through ideological or partisan barriers; and to consider which stories they seek to tell in their work.
We partner with world-class artists, writers, and content creators who are as passionate about human rights as they are about artistic excellence. Together, we bring the stories developed through our writing workshops to life in powerful, provocative, change-creating ways.
Writers are at the heart of all that we do at Center for Story & Witness. Browse just a few of the notable books our workshop participants, staff, Advisory Board, and Launch and Leadership Circle have written, and discover your next favorite read.
Through our year-long Teacher Training Institute & Fellows Program, we’re developing a new generation of testimonial writing workshop instructors and facilitators. Our end goal? Cultivating leaders deeply connected to the communities we work with, so as to expand our Center for Story & Witness programming at the grassroots level.
We’ve worked on four continents, in 12 countries, and over 40 U.S. states.
COLLABORATIVE
Brought our programs and lectures to over 250 grassroots organizations.
Trained over 26,000 activists through our narrative advocacy trainings.
Graduated over 1,300 writers from our testimonial writing program.
Helped change state and federal law through our coalition-driven, story-focused advocacy efforts.
Created to honor the legacy of the beloved educator, advocate, and Center for Story & Witness supporter, the Mimi Taylor Grimes Scholarship Fund takes its inspiration from Mimi’s deeply held belief that in order to heal, survivors first need to...
READ MORE ❯
At a time when funding for survivor-centered organizations is tightening, public conversations about basic rights are increasingly polarized, and those of us doing work at the intersection of art, advocacy, and social justice are under unprecedented attack, the mission of...
READ MORE ❯
Today, more than ever, the stories of those most impacted by social injustice need to be heard. But how do we challenge those who seek to “disappear” stories that speak truth to power? And how can we use our own...
READ MORE ❯
We know from history and social justice movements that stories are among our most powerful tools for creating social change. But how does the act of sharing the truths we’ve lived or witnessed alter the person doing the truth-telling?...
READ MORE ❯
When Sandra Cisneros, an icon of American arts and letters, received the 2025 Harold Washington Literary Award last month, book lovers everywhere celebrated. And at Center for Story and Witness – where we regularly teach Sandra’s work during our...
READ MORE ❯
Today, more than ever, the voices of those most impacted by social injustice need to be heard. But how do we confront those who seek to “disappear” stories that speak truth to power? And how can we use our own...
READ MORE ❯Sign up for our newsletter