University of Birmingham

Narrative 4 – Story Exchange

Joseph Chamberlain College was recently visited by representatives from the University of Birmingham to aid its students in their first Narrative 4 Story Exchange.

Narrative 4 is an international story exchange programme which aims to build a culture of inclusivity and connectedness by letting people share their own personal stories. The college’s English department will be overseeing a series of story exchanges this year with a cohort of A-Level English Literature, English Language, and English Language & Literature students. Developing the courage to respond to a prompt, share a personal story, and listen to someone else’s story will help empower the students to succeed further in both education and life, which is one of the goals of the workshop.

One of JCC’s students, Ramanah, said: “It was an enlightening experience. I’ve learnt a lot about the difference between empathy and sympathy, and I look forward to doing this again in the future.”

Another student, Arif, added: “This workshop further supports my ideal that if we open up and talk to each other, things would be a lot better. It helps us realise that we should provide support for each other, help each other, and talk to each other.”

In 2018, Ruth Gilligan, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham, brought together students from JCC and two other schools from Birmingham and Ireland for a weekend of storytelling, empathy, and cultural exchange. The project formed the basis of a major feature in The Guardian, which can be found here.

The college would like to thank everybody involved in this incredible project.