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AKO Storytelling Institute launches 9-month Fellowship programme on “Truth and Lies”

  • Written byDan Austin
  • Published date 01 March 2023
Fashion tutors and ReGo project participants at Poplar Works | Photograph: Francesco Mazzarella | Image edited through Photomosh

The AKO Storytelling Institute has announced the launch of its first-ever UAL Storytelling Fellowship programme – co-designed with Crossover Labs. The nine-month programme aims to explore how storytelling can lead to social change and will offer ten talented professionals and practitioners from various industries and disciplines the opportunity to develop their skills.

Supported by the AKO Foundation, the fellowship will support each fellow with a total stipend of £7,500, bespoke mentorship, and a workshop-based programme of applied learning. It will also offer a supportive space for fellows to collaborate and experiment on projects that aim to have a real-world impact.

The AKO Storytelling Institute works at the intersection of storytelling and social change and this fellowship programme is part of its commitment to interdisciplinary experimentation and collaboration

This first year of the programme, from September 2023 to June 2024, will focus on the theme of "Truth and Lies." Fellows will explore how to combat disinformation, a phenomenon that has become a global threat to freedom and democracy, using the power of storytelling.

The UAL Storytelling Fellowship is seeking professionals and practitioners from all backgrounds, from the arts to culture, media, entertainment, and campaigning for social change. Academics are also welcome to apply. The Institute is looking for fellows who are collaborative, flexible, and brave, with a commitment to using their skills for societal change.

Applications for the 2023/24 UAL Storytelling Fellowship are open from 1 March to 15 May 2023. Potential fellows are encouraged to submit a research question that is specific to the theme of Truth and Lies.

I’m delighted to be launching this unique programme. I don’t know of any other fellowship that brings together campaigners, creatives and academics in this way. My hunch is, by providing this experimental lab space and by sharing knowledge and approaches across disciplines, we’ll be able to discover new territories and really take storytelling for change to a new level.

— Francesca Panetta, Director of the AKO Storytelling Institute

About AKO Storytelling Institute 

The AKO Storytelling Institute works at the intersection of storytelling and social change, part of University of the Arts London's Social Purpose Group. Its mission is to develop evidence-based approaches to the theory and practice of storytelling-for-change, with a focus on fostering real-world change. The Institute shares its research through public events and media and traditional academic research outputs.