"How do peacebuilding organisations communicate about peace online and offline? Narrative competency must be a fundamental aspect of our work as peacebuilders in the modern age, as we confront the challenges posed by social media, divided on-line communities, growing political polarisation globally and more easily-ready manipulation tactics within public discourse. The term narrative is ubiquitous today and commonly used interchangeably with story. Indeed, storytelling is widely recognised now as an important skill within the social sector, a needed tool for social change that is woven into traditional conceptions of strategic communications, fundraising and awareness-raising on important societal issues. There is currently a lack of understanding within the peacebuilding field, however, of the concept of narrative fundamentally as a cognitive framework that resides at the level of our unconscious minds, which allows human beings to make meaning of the world. Several powerful philanthropies like Ford Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Foundation have recognised this deficit of understanding and are investing in narrative change platforms and resources for social justice and equality. Narratives are clearly much more than a passing fad. Our current strategic communications practices are siloed; organisational-level storytelling is no longer enough to confront these evolving conflict dynamics. Instead, the field of peacebuilding must commit to a more profound understanding and engagement at the level of societal narratives (meta-narratives or dominant narratives) that get to the heart of underlying attitudes, beliefs and actions that affect a peacebuilding agenda. While much has been written about how activists can address narrative change, peacebuilders have a special calling to engage with narratives in a way that is self-reflective, curious, seeks complexity and constructs meaning with others." (Executive summary)