T H E PA T H

STORYTELLING AS AN
EMPATHY BRIDGE.
A thought journey

JUAN SEBASTIAN VIVAS NAME

WE
ARE
HUMAN
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 6

INTRODUCTION 8

CHAPTER 1 - THE BEGINNING 24

Context statement 26

I would like to dedicate my work to the love of God present in the heart of every Defining conversation 28

human being. What is a conversation ecology 34

Defining storytelling 34
I want first to thank God for writing this with me. Thank him for letting me be his
vessel in promoting love and understanding to others through my work and my Thesis question 39
passion. I thank my thesis instructors Alexander Manu and Renn Scott for their
defining guidance and all of the tools and advice they provided me with, which led CHAPTER 2 - THE DEFINITION 40
me to achieve a piece of work that I am certainly proud of. I thank my mother Astrid
Thesis intent 42
Name for showing me through her example what true compassion and love feels
like. I thank my brother Mario Felipe Vivas Name for not only providing me with People definition and placement 44
great information that influenced my work, but also for always being my greatest Needed intervention 64
motivation. I thank my father Mario Ivan Vivas Perdomo, because for me, he is a
living image of the amount of love that human heart can contain. Last but not least, I CHAPTER 3 - THE MOVEMENT 68
want to thank all my photography subjects and all whom supported me through my
Concept statement 70
entire journey.
The script 76

The media 80

A conversation ecology 86

CHAPTER 4 - THE VISION 88

Brand Image 90

The film, the book, the experience 98

CHAPTER 5 - FINAL THOUGHTS 118

 LEST WE FORGET THAT WAR AND PAIN HAVE A
HUMAN FACE, AND THAT COMPASSION IS THE
ONLY STRING OF HOPE WE HAVE LEFT.
Who are we to call someone inhuman? Who
are we to take away the only thing that will
never change within us? Every human being,
without exception or precedence, has a history,
ABSTRACT.
a self, a soul, dreams and motivations. Actions
and thoughts are always linked to a deeper
purpose. The way we act is partly conditioned
by the life we were placed to live, but this is
often challenged by an inner force that pushes
us to act accordingly to what we believe is
the real truth. Call this force conscience, call it
compassion, call it sacrifice, call it love, I call it
our never changing humanity.
As human nature is beautiful, it is mainly
imperfect. It is often that what we believe leads
us to do things that we perceive unfitting, or
even, force someone else to do something we
were once forced to do. Behind every act of
violence there is always a human motivation,
even when it is not the personal one of whom
perpetrates it.
*1. Arendt, Hannah, and Margaret Canovan. The human condition. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 2012. Http://sduk.us. Web.
6 Fig. 1 Via Unsplash - Andres Jildn
As we should never forget what has been done,
the suffering caused by any due conflict and
the people that have both received and/or
spread the pain, we should never let this stream
of thought rob us and others from rebuilding
ourselves and repairing our surroundings.
Hannah Arendt, in her book The Human
Condition states that the possible redemption
from the predicament of irreversibilityof being
unable to undo what one has done though one
did not, and could not, have known what he
was doingis the faculty of forgiving.*1 (237)
The only thing that can change the course of
action and history is the unprecedented ability
of someone to forgive.
This journey, is an exploration in which we seek
to understand how storytelling can become the
pathway that guides us through rediscovering
the power of the unprecedented and our very
own human nature.
7
 I COME
FROM A PL ACE,
WHERE KILLERS
HAVE NO FACE.

8 9
 WHERE PAIN
HAS NO
MEMORY,
AND WAR HAS
NO HISTORY.

10 Fig. 2 Via Unsplash - Micha Grosicki

11
 WHERE PEOPLE
KILL ONE
ANOTHER,
BECAUSE THEY
DONT SEE
EACH OTHER
AS PEOPLE.

12 Fig. 3 Via Unsplash - Rab Fyfe

13
 Fig. 4 Via Unsplash - Nathan Anderson

A P L AC E W I TH D E E P WOU NDS AND I NT ENSE PAI N .

14 15
 BUT I HAVE
HOPE,
THAT ONE DAY,
WE WILL BE
ABLE TO SIT
DOWN AND
LISTEN.

16 17
 SEE ONE
ANOTHER
FOR WHO WE
REALLY ARE,
AND NOT WHAT
WE ONCE
FOUGHT FOR.

18 19
 I BELIEVE IN A WORLD

THAT LISTENS AND ANSWERS,

AS WE LIVE SHARE AND EXPERIENCE,

THE STORIES WE WANT TO TELL.

20 Fig. 5 Via Unsplash - Joshua Newton

21
 I BELIEVE IN A MOVEMENT

OF A NEVER CHANGING HUMANITY

22 23
 THE
CHAPTER I BEGINNING

24 Fig. 6 Via Unsplash - Ju On

25
 FROM THE MOST COMPLEX TO THE MOST
CONTROVERSIAL. FROM THE BIGGEST TO THE
LONGEST TO THE SMALLEST, IN BOTH GLOBAL
AND LOCAL ARMED CONFLICT, CONVERSATION
IS ABSENT OR MINIMAL.
It is when we put down our weapons that
conversation becomes the foundation for
reparation, rehabilitation and permanent peace.
It is then, when storytelling becomes an asset,
and intrinsic empathy becomes the route to
accomplish integral reconciliation. We start to
see each other as human again. This is what we
call the post-conflict, where every conflict is a
guaranteed post-conflict.
A post-conflict is the aftermath environment of an
underlined conflict that changed considerably a
community, enough to bring transitional effects
and changes in its social structure. It can go from
small scale to large scale. An atmosphere of
tension and transition is generated where actors
of the conflict, the affected and the spectators
slowly start to interact again in the same space
and environment.
Image Source: Fig. 7 Grunge World Map. N.d. Eskipaper. Web. 9 Apr. 2017. <http://eskipaper.com/grunge-world-map.html#>.
Diagram Information Source: Map of armed conflicts. ConflictMap.org - map of armed conflicts. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2017.
26
A post-conflict situation often becomes a
much more complex setting than the conflict
itself. Efforts to maintain peace start to decline
as conflict resolution processes often focus
on finishing the conflict, but not maintaining
peace and reconciliation in the aftermath. The
conflict actors are seen in direct interaction,
which creates a high tensioned environment.
If conversation is not held successfully, there is
a huge potential for new conflicts to arise. For
this reason, what determines the success of a
post-conflict is how this tension is diminished
by an atmosphere that promotes a conversation
ecology.
A path towards this ideal future needs to be
traced in the early stage of the post-conflict, so
when the time comes, the ideal conversation
framework has been established, and the
process of reconciliation starts with the least
tension possible.
27
 THROUGH CONVERSATION WE ACTUALIZE
KNOWLEDGE, CONCEPTS, PL ACES, AND THE
REL ATIONSHIPS WE HAVE WITH PEOPLE. ITS
STABILIT Y AND PRESENCE DETERMINES THE
HEALTH AND VALUE OF ANY SOCIAL SYSTEM.
Conversation is the informal interchange of data,
knowledge and stories that fosters the birth and
evolution of new concepts, relationships and
COMMUNICATION CONVERSATION DIALOGUE experiences. As a multidimensional archetype,
it has a vast number of manifestations, which
reflect in our daily interactions with people,
objects, our surrounding and even ourselves.
It is only through conversation that we learn
new concepts, share and evolve knowledge and
confirm agreement.*1 It translates knowledge
and relationships into a shareable experience,
that can be then transferred into strong bonds
and relationships that foster personal and
collective development.
*1. Dubbberly, Hugh, and Paul Pangaro. What is conversation? How can we design for effective conversation? Dubberly Design Office, 1 May 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2017.
<http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-conversation.html>.
28 Fig. 8 Via Unsplash - Ali Inay
There are four relevant manifestations of
conversation that constantly overlap when
looking at human interactions. These include
verbal, touch, visual and abstract conversation.
Their fluidity gives the opportunity to be
designed into a conversational framework,
that can be then transferred into desirable
outcomes and experiences. Although, when it
is inadequately practiced or absent, it can result
in a division rather than a connection.
From a personal to a collective scale, its absence
or instability is the root of every existing conflict.
As when designing new ways for conversation,
we reach new directions to knowledge and
reintegration, we also need to reassure that
these pathways are directed towards a self-
sustaining and uniting conversation ecology.
29
 DATA STORYTELLING MEETING CARESS HUG ASSURANCE TANGO

OPINION MUSIC KISS

FIGHT
CONCERN DINNER
LANGUAGE AFFECTION SALSA DANCE
MUSIC
DEBATE

SAFE
CULTURE EMOTION GRIEF
JOKE STORY

SEX
DIALOGUE
LOVE

NEWS
VERBAL TOUCH FAMILY

INFORMATION DANCE
ATTITUDE HOLDING HANDS

POLITICS
EVENT
PLEASURE
DIPLOMACY CLOSENESS

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS ATTITUDE MEDITATION GOD

FORGIVENESS
SMILE

PRAYER
BODY LANGUAGE SPIRITUAL
EYE CONTACT
TELEPATHY
VISUAL ABSTRACT
INDIGINEITY
PHOTOGRAPHS STORYTELLING

SEDUCTION
SIGN & SYMBOLS METAPHYSICAL NOSTALGIA
MONOLOGUE
SKETCHING

CULTURE SIGN LANGUAGE IDENTITY

WORDS CONCEPTUAL ARCHETYPE CONTEMPLATION
DATA
LITERATURE

30
CONTEMPLATION
Fig. 9 Via Unsplash - Josh Rocklage
CHAT TEXTING THEORY SCIENCE IDEA LOVE
31
 WHEN STORIES TRANSFORM PEOPLE, FACES

HUMANIZE THE INHUMANE AND STORIES

WHAT IS TRANSCENDS ARGUMENTS,

A CON VERSATI ON A CONVERSATION ECOLOGY IS A MULTI-

ECOLOGY
DIRECTIONAL SYSTEM OF SHARING,

EVOLVING AND SPREADING KNOWLEDGE

AND INFORMATION , THAT SELF -SUSTAINS

BY THE SOCIAL CAPITAL AND NET WORKS

GENERATED IN THE PROCESS.

32 Fig. 10 Via Unsplash - Fabian Irsara

33
 WHERE
BEING DATA
DOES STORIES FIT?
MAYBE STORIES ARE JUST DATA WITH A SOUL.
Stories let us express facts, moments and
feelings in a way that others can experience
our own perspectives and empathize with
them. A story is a narration of a moment in
time and space, that embeds the feeling and
outlook of the one who narrates it. They are
the data that lives within a determined context
and point of view. As they offer information,
they also maintain the essence, humanity and
context where this data lives in. It is not only
a deeper way of understanding history, actions
and events, but also, of connecting us with the
ones who lived them. Stories not only let us
appreciate information and spread knowledge,
but it also gives us a human understanding of
how this knowledge manifests.
When combining the ACT with its ESSENCE
(context + persona) we express thoughts,
concepts, events and places through a human
perspective. Three of the main forms in which
stories manifest are: the story itself, the process
of making and/or writing the story, and the
practice of telling it through a specific media.
BEING SOUL
34
BREN BROWN
A story not only let us appreciate the plot and
events surrounding a character, but also let us dig
ACT
deeper into their psychology and personality.
While its narration let us appreciate the storyline
landscape, it also let us see it through different
eyes that are not our own. It immerses ourselves
into a different alien perspective, which ends up
feeding our own.
STORY
They have the capability of taking many shapes
and forms that are often timeless and not limited
to a specific culture or location. Even when they
dont change, they compel and transform their
audience in a personal way. It is often that a story
doesnt mean the same to everybody, and that
people are compelled by them in a very different
way. This is because they are not only about
ESSENCE
their information, but how their fluid feeling
and meaning manifests within their audience.
For this reason, stories promote empathy rather
than sympathy. It is not about showcasing a
character, but seeing that character within you.
This makes it one of the most accessible and
powerful ways of generating empathy when
sharing our experiences.
A story in its most simplified form, is a human
perspective that others can feel as their own.
Fig. 11 Via Unsplash - Charlie Harutaka
35
 ARGUMENT IMPOSED DATA

THE TWO MAIN

Arguments are fact-centred points of
view that limit knowledge to a specific
direction. As a conversation route it
has a high risk of collapse as it divides
people based on their ideology.

ROUTES OF
CONVERSATION
STORYTELLING SHARED DATA

Storytelling turns facts and concepts into

shareable journeys and experiences. As
a conversation ecology it basis itself in
empathetic perspectives that actualize
concepts, spaces and people as new
relationships emerge.

36 Fig. 12 Via Unsplash - Austin Walker

37
 NOSTALGIA & INSTRUMENT

REMEMBRANCE

STORYTELLING WHAT IF

IDENTITY
SELF-GROWTH
& SHARED
EXISTENCE
REBIRTH REHABILITATION POST-CONFLICT WE VISUALIZED THE

VISUALIZATION
SOUL + DATA
& CONVERSATION
SOUL WITHIN STORIES,

AND UTILIZE IT TO
Fig. 13 Via Unsplash - Geran de Klerk

unsplash.com/photo-1473772564351-202a22a93101?ixlib=rb-0.3.5&q=80&fm=jpg&crop=entropy&cs=tinysrgb&s=49e6aa102ef7ac85728a6f4ac1f0f452

How might we reach reintegration and As we acknowledge the potential of storytelling

RECONCILE A SOCIET Y
compassion in a conflicted environment? to transform and compel an audience, this same
power can be utilized to cultivate empathy in
How might we experience compelling
storytelling to cultivate personalized
a conflicted environment. As stories humanize
concepts, knowledge and people, we place real ENTERING
empathy? human beings with real pain and history as the
core to sensitize a community.
What if we switched ego for compas-
sion? Through storytelling we acknowledge ones
dreams, motivations and context for action. POST-CONFLICT?
People that were seen once as inhuman, are
seen as human again. This becomes the first
step towards an integral reconciliation process.

38 Fig. 14 Via Unsplash - Etienne Desclides

39
 THE
CHAPTER 2 DEFINITION

40 Fig. 15 Via Unsplash - Laura Lefurgey-Smith

41
 THROUGH THE FIELD OF SOCIAL INNOVATION ,

ACHIEVE AND PROMOTE NEW WAYS OF

EXPERIENCING CONVERSATION;

THESIS VISUALIZE THE SOUL WITHIN

STORIES TO HUMANIZE AND

INTENT REINTEGRATE A COMPASSIONATE

COMMUNIT Y THAT GROWS FROM

THE ASHES OF A FORGIVEN

CONFLICT.

42 Fig. 10 Via Unsplash - Fabian Irsara

43
 PEOPLE &
STAKEHOLDERS

44 Fig. 16 Via Unsplash - Namphuong Van

45
 THE VICTIMIZER AS THE HUMAN CENTRE OF THE
MOVEMENT.

Without victimizer, there is no potential victim, With this said, it is also important to say that
hence no potential future conflict. For a conflict in any conflict and specially in the post-conflict
to deescalate, the ones who perpetrate it must everyone has the potential of becoming a new
be treated first, as they are the root and the victimizer. From the victim seeking for vengeance,
hand of pain. A successful rehabilitation of to the receiving communities discriminating
the victimizer not only is the first step towards the reinserted conflict actors. So the challenge
reconciliation and reparation, but it is the only becomes to rehabilitate the victimizer through
way we can foresee a successful post-conflict incentives and opportunities, while still fostering
that extends itself into permanent peace. truth, justice and reconciliation with the victims,
mediators, receiving communities and policy
After a major conflict, major victimizers come to makers.
light. If they are seen and treated as inhumane
bodies that doesnt deserve compassion, they
wont see any other route than most likely to
come back to their past behavior and continue
to perpetrate the stains on their hands. But
when they encounter an unprecedented act of
forgiveness, inspired by a compassionate and
empathetic community, hope returns to the
ones that were thought lost.

46 47
 INDIVIDUAL &
PERSONAL
PRISIONS &
HUMAN RIGHTS REHAB CENTRES GUERRILLA INTERNATIONAL
FOUNDATION MILITANTS DONATORS

AGRICULTURE
NEIGHBORS
CONGRESS PRISIONERS
UNITED ADVENTURERS
NATIONS
GOVERNMENT VICTIMS
FAMILY

CULTURAL FARMERS
NORMS

VICTIMIZER
VICTIMIZER
RECONCILIATION
NGOS VICTIM INVESTORS
INITIATIVES & MOVEMENTS
POLITICAL ARMY
PARTIES SOLDIERS

COLLECTIVE PERSONAL
ECONOMY ECONOMY
MEDIATOR CONFLICT
THE CRISIS MANGEMENT ACTORS
TOURISTS
INITIATIVE (CMI)
PRESIDENCY STUDENTS &
TEACHERS
NATURAL INDIGENOUS
RESOURCES PEOPLE

TRUTH & RECONCILIATION

SMALL ARTISTS
COMMISSIONS UNIVERSITIES & BUSINESSES
EDUCATION CONFLICT CORE
STAKEHOLDERS

PUBLIC & LOCAL COMMUNITY

NATIONAL
INSTITUTIONAL
48
INTERNATIONAL
49
Fig. 17 Via Unsplash - Ali Inay
 PEOPLE CATEGORIES
FOR A SUCCESSFUL POST-CONFLICT
RECONCILIATION TRANSITION , EVERY PEOPLE
CATEGORY NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED.
When looking at a society entering post-conflict,
defining and involving the people that surround
the process is core for a successful transition.
In post-conflict we can group people into
four categories: Victimizer, Victim, Receiving
Communities, Justice Systems (Policy Makers) +
Mediators.
The victimizer is one who is considered a major
actor of the conflict and once generated a
victim, either forced or by their own will.
The victim is one who was emotionally, financially
and/or physically affected by the conflict as a
whole or a specific victimizer.
50
VICTIMIZER VICTIM
The Receiving Communities are the students,
the working class, the families. People
and communities that were passive actors
(spectators) of the conflict, and will become the
ones to receive the people who lived it actively
(Victimizers + Victims). Often in urban areas,
the Receiving Communities will be the ones to
determine the atmosphere in which the post-
conflict will develop.
The Justice Systems + Mediators are all the
RECEIVING JUSTICE &
diplomatic leaders, governmental institutions
and civil entities that guide and monitor the
post-conflict transition and reconciliation.
Every people category has its own role and
COMMUNITIES MEDIATORS
charisma in the reconciliation process. All of
them should be kept active and relevant in
every stage of the post-conflict.
Fig. 18 Via Unsplash - Bryce Evans
51
 GOALS
REPAIR
NEW LIFE
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND REALIZATION
BUILD NEW RELATIONSHIPS
SHARE STORIES THOUGHTS AND BELIEFS
PROJECT TO SOMETHING BIGGER

DESIRES
REHABILITATION SUPPORT
BRIGHTER FUTURE
BE SOMETHING ELSE
BE SEEN AS A HUMAN BEING
RECONCILIATION
BE HEARD

MOTIVATIONS

VICTIMIZER
COMPASSION
AMNESTY
INTRINSIC EMPATHY
UNPRECEDENTED ACT OF FORGIVENESS
ADVOCACY

52 Fig. 19 Via Unsplash - Nicole Mason

EMPATHETIC COMMUNITY THAT LISTENS AND CARES
53
 GOALS
REPARATION
GET MY LIFE BACK
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND REALIZATION
BUILD FOUNDATIONS
RECONCILE AND FORGIVE

DESIRES
NO REPETITION GUARANTEE
DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF CAUSES AND EVENTS
STABILITY
COME BACK TO THE OLD NORMAL OR A NEW BETTER
BE ACKNOWLEDGED AND BE HEARD
NO IMPUNITY

MOTIVATIONS

VICTIM
JUSTICE
INTEGRITY
DIGNITY
FAMILY
EMPATHY OVER SORROW

54 Fig. 19 Via Unsplash - Nicole Mason

BECOME FOUNDATIONS FOR A NEW BEGINNING
55
 GOALS
BRIDGE THE GAP
BE RIGHT AND JUST
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL REALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT
WELCOME THE NEW ERA
BECOME CATALYSTS FOR RECONCILIATION

DESIRES

NO REPETITION GUARANTEE
DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF CAUSES AND EVENTS
STABILITY
COME BACK TO THE OLD NORMAL OR A NEW BETTER
BE HEARD

MOTIVATIONS

RECEIVING COMMUNITIES JUSTICE

INTEGRITY
DIGNITY
FAMILY
EMPATHY OVER SORROW
56 Fig. 19 Via Unsplash - Nicole Mason
57
 GOALS
ENFORCE INTEGRAL JUSTICE
WORK AS CATALYSTS
REBUILD RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH IMPARTIALITY
FOLLOW THE TRUTH OVER ANYTHING
PROMOTE TRUST

DESIRES

BE HOLDERS OF TRUTH
ACT IMPARTIALLY
COLLABORATION
COHERENCE
PROMOTE DIGNITY OVER EVERYTHING

MOTIVATIONS

JUSTICE + MEDIATORS PEOPLES INTEREST

DIPLOMATIC SUPPORT
CIVIL INVOLVEMENT
BRIGHT PATH
RESULTS
58 Fig. 19 Via Unsplash - Nicole Mason
59
 PEOPLE CONTEXT ACTIVITIES

NO RURAL VS COMING
VICTIMIZER CONNECTION URBAN BACK HOME

WHO IS SURROUND
WHO? FAMILY

WILLING VS
VICTIM MOVEMENT NOT WILLING
WHAT
NEXT?

FORGIVE,
RECEIVE &
ACCEPT

RECEIVING
COMMUNITIES
CIVIL
POPULATION POST-CONFLICT TRANSITION NEGOTIATIONS

ARE THEY IMPARTIAL POLITICS & LAND

MEDIATOR ENTITIES
INFORMED? DIPLOMACY REPARTITION

JUSTICE POLICY
MAKERS AMNESTY SHARING
SYSTEMS
THOUGHTS
+ STORIES
60 Fig. 20 Via Unsplash - Paul Gilmore
61
 ROLES + PL ACEMENT

RECEIVING JUSTICE &

VICTIMIZER VICTIM
COMMUNITIES MEDIATORS

ADVOCATE & TARGET PARTNERS &

CO-DESIGNER
SECOND USER AUDIENCE STAKEHOLDERS

CONCEPT SHAPERS IDEA BACKERS

62 Fig. 21 Via Unsplash - Nathan Anderson
63
 GENERATES

64
BUSINESS

TO SHARE THE PAIN BY REBUILD-

COMPLETES BEHAVIOUR CYCLE
ING FOUNDATIONS THROUGH
FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIA-
TION.

DESIRE

PROMOTE TRUTH AND JUSTICE AS

THE CORE FOR INTEGRAL
DEVELOPMENT AND
RECONCILIATION.

GOALS CREATES BUSINESS COMPELS USER SUSTAINS BUSINESS

EXPERIENCE INTRINSIC EMPATHY CONVERSATIONS SHIFT FROM

EXPERIENTIAL/VISUAL
TO HUMANIZE THE CONTEXT AND ARGUMENTATION TO
STORYTELLING
REBUILD RELATIONSHIPS. STORYTELLING.

MOTIVATION DISRUPTOR MEDIA BEHAVIOR

VISUAL STORYTELLING WE ARE ONE NARRATIVE, NEW RELATIONSHIPS ARE

THROUGH PERSONAL LETS GROW TOGETHER. CREATED AS STRONG BONDS
EXPERIENCES. HAND & GLOVE. BUILD NEW STORIES TO
SHARE AND TELL. INTRINSIC
ACTION RELATIONSHIP
EMPATHY FOLLOWED BY
VISUAL STORYTELLING, A
CONTEXT BECOMES KEY. SOCIETY BUILDS ITSELF FROM
STORIES FLOW AS COMPAS- A FORGIVEN CONFLICT.
SION BUILDS FORGIVENESS

SATISFACTION SATISFACTION AS MEDIA

STORY-CRAFTING,
VISUALIZATION AND
PERSONALIZED DELIVERY.

STARTS NEW
BREAKS ASSUMPTIONS AND
BEHAVIOUR CYCLE
INSTITUTIONALIZED
PERCEPTIONS
BEHAVIOUR DISRUPTION
BUSINESS ACTIVITY
COGNITIVE COMPUTING
SHAPE STORIES TO MEET
PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES. INNOVATION BEHAVIOUR CANVAS
BUSINESS DISRUPTION Map Layout Reference:
2011 Alexander Manu

VICTIMIZER

NEW RELATIONSHIPS RECEIVING

STORY
EMERGE BASED ON EMPATHY COMMUNITIES
WHILE STILL
GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVIDED

VICTIM
65
 THIS IS
WHAT WE
CALL
THE PATH
T H E PA T H

66 67
 THE
CHAPTER 3 MOVEMENT

68 Fig. 22 Via Unsplash - Timothy Rhyne

69
 THE PATH IS A MOVEMENT

THAT SEEKS TO HUMANIZE THE

VICTIMIZER, AS THE VERY FIRST

STEP TOWARDS POST-CONFLICT

RECONCILIATION.

70 71
 THE THE
SCRIPT MEDIA
DIPLOMATIC APPLICATION SOCIAL APPLICATION
POLICY DRIVEN EXPERIENCE DRIVEN

72 Fig. 23 Via Unsplash - Johan Arthursson Fig. 24 Via Unsplash - Arnaud Jaegers
73
 THE THE
SCRIPT MEDIA
DIPLOMATIC APPLICATION SOCIAL APPLICATION
POLICY DRIVEN EXPERIENCE DRIVEN

S TORY M A K I N G S TORY TEL L IN G

 THE STEPS
TOWARDS EMPATHY
WHAT ANTICIPATES A POWERFUL STORY IS A
POWERFUL SCRIPT.
THE SCRIPT is an adaptive framework that
seeks to guide diplomatic leaders through an
initial reconciliation process. It eases tension
and opens up new ways of practicing dialogue
with other political leaders and victimizers.
Compatible and in junction with conventional
conflict resolution practices, it seeks to endorse
storymaking and storytelling as the most
accessible way to reach consensus and draw a
path towards reconciliation.
THE SCRIPT IS
THE FIRST STAGE.
Fig. 23 Via Unsplash - Johan Arthursson
Through a series of stages, THE SCRIPT takes
both the diplomatic Partners & Stakeholders and
victimizers (co-designers) through a storymaking
journey that rehabilitates the victimizer, offers
options to reach amnesty and writes the types
of stories that will be told in the second stage
of the process.
THE SCRIPT is a way of documenting the truth,
events of war and the process of negotiation
between the involved parties. Although, what
differentiates itself from other conventional
ways of documentation, is that its focus is to
translate this data into stories that will then be
visualized and told to the public.
77
 SOUL+DATA
GATHER
THE SCRIPT FRAMEWORK
ENGAGE
A JOURNEY THAT OPENS UP NEW DIRECTIONS
FOR EXPRESSION , REHABILITATION AND
CONVERSE
CONVERSATION.
LISTEN & The framework is divided in fours stages of
action that are adaptable depending on the
type of conflict being applied for. They are
grouped in three time lapses: ANTICIPATE,
ENTRY and ENGAGE, which determines the
role and procedure for its respective stage.
Beginning with the CONTEXT, it involves the
APPROACH
understanding and scanning of the conflict
ENTRY landscape. It provides a field of action and
an agenda of the cultural and contextual
considerations needed to be taken into account
in every stage of the process. Given to its nature,
it belongs to the ANTICIPATE time lapse.
CONTEXT
ANTICIPATE
Continuing with APPROACH, it is the entry point
in which THE PATH movement, its storytelling
framework and the implications of involving
in the process are introduced to the involved
parties. Given to its nature, it belongs to the
ENTRY time lapse.
Following with LISTEN & CONVERSE, it is
the beginning stage of engagement, in which
sessions with the involved parties are held to
start practicing storytelling and storymaking.
Given to its nature, it belongs to the ENGAGE
time lapse.
Finishing with GATHER SOUL+DATA, it is the
culminating stage in which the stories, data and
feelings shared in the LISTEN & CONVERSE
sessions are documented and processed to
then be crafted into stories that will compel
the public. Given to its nature, it belongs to the
ENGAGE time lapse.
A more detailed description of each stage can
be found on THE MOVEMENT KIT.
79
 THE STEPS
DIVERSE
MEDIA AS EMPATHY
TOWARDS
THE MEDIA ALWAYS FOLLOWS A SCRIPT, BUT THE
SCRIPT WITHOUT ITS MEDIA IS JUST A PIECE OF
WRITING.

THE MEDIA as the second stage of the
movement, is a transformational section
in which THE SCRIPT is visualized into its
storytelling potential. As a social application, it
seeks to visualize and translate the Soul+Data
(stories) gathered in the first stage, so it can be
experienced, shared and reflected upon by the
public and specially the Receiving Communities.
Through a series of stages, THE MEDIA seeks
to visualize, process and deliver storytelling
that promotes empathy and works as the core
for a conversation ecology to emerge. Through
diverse media, different routes of transformation
are delivered so a larger audience is both
compelled and moved.
THE MEDIA is a way of showing the faces of
history and the faces of war. It works as a way to

THE MEDIA IS THE

spread the message throughout the community
that even when killers and murderers have done
terrible things, they are still human beings.

SECOND STAGE. 81
Fig. 24 Via Unsplash - Arnaud Jaegers
 DIVERSE MEDIA
THE THE USE OF DIVERSE MEDIA SPREADS AND
INTENSIFIES THE IMPACT OF A STORY.
The use of diverse media extends the of a
story as it targets a wide range of different
community niches. The power of being media
FILM BOOK
agnostic, is that the story can take any form and
any shape depending on the target audience
preferences. This is why THE MEDIA offers three
possible media routes that can be adapted for
its appropriate context.
THE FILM or moving image have the capability
of engaging visually and emotionally with
an audience. Being a documentary, fiction
and non-fiction features and/or art cinema,
its main strength is to move people, so they
create empathy links and relationships with
EXPERIENCE the character and setting depicted. Through
visuals and sound, it transports the viewer
into a designed atmosphere, that if directed
properly, can potentially transform the viewers
perspective and open up new departure points
for conversation. It gives a face and background
THREE
to the unheard voices.
MEDIA ROUTES
82 Fig. 25 Via Unsplash - Ferdinant Sthr
THE BOOK can take make many shapes and
has many purposes. One being literature,
poetry or fables, they all have the potential
of transforming the reader through their own
imagination. Similar to THE FILM they have
the capability of moving an audience, but
with a focus more on the prose and imagery
generated by tone, description and written
narration. Another shape it can take is one that
documents a theoretical guide or framework
that can work as pilot for a specific intervention
depending on the context.
THE EXPERIENCE holds its strength in being
a tangible statement of the movement.
As an installation or performance art, THE
EXPERIENCE uses real and physical presence
to engage with its audience in real space. It has
the capability of making the spectators feel as
an active part of the movement, where things
are happening in real time in front of them, with
them and because of them.
83
 REFLECTION

ADVOCATE
SPONSOR
SHARE &
THE MEDIA FRAMEWORK
ENGAGE
TRANSFORM THE FILM, THE BOOK AND THE EXPERIENCE.
A STORY TELLING JOURNEY THAT HARVESTS

IMMERSION
EMPATHY AND HUMANIT Y WITHIN.

STORY As THE MEDIA seeks to represent stories through
diverse media, the framework starts with a three
way media diversion: THE FILM, THE BOOK,
THE EXPERIENCE. All of the media routes
go parallel to each other and are developed
at the same time through the process. The
process of each route is divided in five stages
of action that are adaptable depending on the
type of personas and stories chosen in the past
stage. This stages are grouped in four time
BRAND
IMAGE
Continuing with BRAND IMAGE, advertising
campaigns that include posters, murals, etc. Are
placed around cities, towns and communities.
Giving a teaser of what the movement can
become. Given to its nature, it belongs to the
ENTRY time lapse.
Following with STORY IMMERSION, the
visualized stories in diverse media immerse
the Receiving Communities into experiences

ENTRY lapses: ANTICIPATE, ENTRY, ENGAGE and
TRANSFORM, which determines the role and
procedure for its respective stage.
Beginning with STORY VISUALIZED, the story
is crafted into a compelling representation. It is
taken from its script state and visualized through
FILM (motion image), BOOK (literature and/or
theory), and/or EXPERIENCE (installation and/
or performance art) in a way that compels the
Receiving Communities. Given to its nature, it
VISUALIZED
EXPERIENCE
that transform and move. Which then, through
SHARE AND REFLECTION, induce empathy
and spread the message of compassion. Given
to their nature, this two stages encompass the
ENGAGE time lapse.
Finishing with ADVOCATE SPONSOR, through
storytelling, Receiving Communities now
represent a compassionate cradle in which
a conversation ecology can grow upon. The
Receiving Communities become advocates

belongs to the ANTICIPATE time lapse. for the victimizers process of reconciliation.
BOOK

ANTICIPATE

Given to its nature, this stage belongs to the

STORY

TRANSFORMATION time lapse, and extends

into a conversation ecology. A more detailed
description of each stage can be found on THE
MOVEMENT KIT.
FILM

85
 REFLECTION

ADVOCATE
SPONSOR
SHARE &
A CONVE RSAT I ON

ENGAGE
TRANSFORM

IMMERSION
STORY
ECOLOGY

BRAND
IMAGE

ENTRY
WHEN STORIES TRANSFORM PEOPLE, FACES
HUMANIZE THE INHUMANE AND STORY TELLING
TRANSCENDS ARGUMENTATION , A MULTI-
SOUL+DATA

VISUALIZED
DIRECTIONAL SYSTEM OF SHARING, EVOLVING

ANTICIPATE
GATHER

STORY
AND SPREADING KNOWLEDGE EMERGES.
ENGAGE

TRANSFORM

Unifying people, thoughts, concepts and As the framework suggests, it is not a linear
CONVERSE

places, as they evolve together into greater process that aims to reach a finish line. It is meant
LISTEN &

manifestations of themselves. When unifying
both stages we reach a conversation ecology
that extends itself into an assurance for
permanent peace.
THE SCRIPT works as a prologue and
APPROACH
to be the starting point in which the power of
storytelling and its potential as a social system
is acknowledged. THE PATH establishes the
core foundations needed to map a successful
post-conflict reconciliation process. But as any
other ecology, it should keep self-validating,

storymaking process, in which a rehabilitation self-actualizing, evolving and extending itself

ENTRY

and diplomatic path is projected and written. into other manifestations that fit best its
THE MEDIA works as the transformation of this environment. This is not a manual, but rather a
prologue and as a storytelling process, as it turns movement that believes in our never changing
its potential into a social intervention. They both humanity.
function as a single post-conflict reconciliation
framework that forges a conversation ecology,
CONTEXT

ANTICIPATE

and prompts a society to grow from the ashes

of a forgiven conflict.

87
 THE
CHAPTER 4 VISION

88 Fig. 26 Via Unsplash - Ju On

89
 W E M AY N OT
FORGET WHAT
T H E Y H AV E
DONE.

BUT WE M AY
F ORGIV E WHO THE Y AR E .

90 91
 THIS IS
WHO WE ARE HUMAN
Mixed image, Fig.1 Via Unsplash - Xander Ashwell

92 93
 THE PATH

THE SCRIPT THE MEDIA

BRAND METAPHORS
BRAND IMAGE THE PAPER PL ANE:
WRITE YOUR STORY, LET IT FLY, SOMEONE WILL PICK IT UP AND WILL THROW IT BACK.

THE COMPASS:
FOLLOW THE PATH TOWARDS NEW THINGS, NEW PEOPLE AND NEW STORIES.

BRAND ATTRIBUTES
TYPEFACE: FUTURA

APPEARANCE: ALL CAPS

GRAPHIC STYLE: HIGH CONTRAST

ATMOSPHERE: ETHEREAL + RAW

TONE: SHARP + HIGH IMPACT

94 Fig. 27 Via Unsplash - Xander Ashwell

95
 PERCEPTUAL MAP

BRAND
PL ACEMENT

96 Fig. 28 Via Unsplash - Karsten Wrth

97
 HOW
COULD THIS
MOVEMENT
FEEL LIKE,
THROUGH
THE LENS
OF DIVERSE
MEDIA?
98 99
 KILLERS WITH A FACE.

THREE FACES

THREE VOICES
FILM THREE INTIMATE MONOLOGUES.

NARRATIONS OF A HUMAN BEING

SEEN AS A MONSTER.

The first step towards reconciliation is acknowledging there is hope to reach one. First, we need
to deconstruct assumptions and institutional perspectives of conflict. Every person, individually,
lives their own personal war, with their own pain, motivations and fear. In order to understand
deeply the cause of a major conflict we need to first listen the ones who lived it. KILLERS WITH
A FACE is a film about three journeys, three faces of pain, but most of all, three human beings.

100 101
102 103
 After all.

AFTER ALL After all the pain and the loss,
the death, the cold.
Seeking to find herself, a teenager narrates her After seeing the water down the hills.
Feeling the thorns of the paths.
journey towards her own realization.
Getting mud stuck on my hair.

She escapes her fate and home to join the guerrilla. After running away from my home
Surrounded by war, something worth living soon Wanting to be someone.
became something worth killing. Overwhelmed by Spending all my teenage years in the guerrilla.
suffering and mixed feelings, she escapes again to
try to find the right path. After killing thousands
And being the target of thousands.
After all, even when the pain still haunts, there is After running away, again,
Towards another kind of freedom.
not much left, almost nothing. The pain and scars

becomes seamlessly irrelevant, as they turn to be a
There is really, not much left.
mere reflection of the pursue of man to find
something bigger than himself. Almost nothing.


My memory only retains those supreme instants,

Inspired by an interview made to Esperanza when man is motivated for something greater than
A former militant of guerrilla group FARC-EP history.

Inspired by Esperanza
A former militant of guerrilla group FARC-EP
104 105
 I just want to, be.
Be something, something else.
CHILD IN HEART. somewhere else.


Happy.
A child that once was forced to become an adult

narrates his willingness to live another life. Hurt by I have seen terrible things.
the scars of his past, he is still not completely I have done terrible things.
broken, as the non-changing memories of love still Things no one should know even exist.
remain in his heart.
People call me a monster.
A beast,
the devil.
Inspired by ending scene of Beast of No Nation
Director - Cary Fukunaga And I am all of these things.

But I also have a mother,
A father,
Brother and sister once.



They loved me.


Inspired by ending scene of
Beast of No Nation
Director - Cary Fukunaga

106 107
 I have lost my life,
I lost myself,
THE UNFOUND SOUL My sanity.
Everything I know is war.

A man who was forced to become a victimizer and I always hoped to find sense in it,
ended up as victim. Abducted as a child, this former find something.
militant narrates how he found purpose for his pain I tried even to find myself,
in order to find sense in his fate. But instead I found something bigger.
Something to believe in.

Broken from this attempt, the only string of hope
I have killed,
and sanity that remains is the memory of a small act I have harmed,
of compassion the night he was abducted. And Ive felt.
What I believed in,
Soon became my reason.

Written by And Im here
Juan Sebastian Vivas because even when my childhood memories are a blur,
I never forgot about that man.
That man
The night I was abducted,
He looked straight into my eyes, almost crying.
And said
Im sorry.

Im here. And I think I have finally found something.
108 109
 THE MOVEMENT KIT

THEORY KIT FOR A CONVERSATION

BOOK ECOLOGY.

A POST-CONFLICT STORY TELLING

MOVEMENT AND FRAMEWORK.

THE MOVEMENT theory kit, seeks to condense THE PATH into a series of stages that can be
adapted to a specific context, and followed to reach a conversation ecology. As a movement
it is not a manual or instruction book, but rather a manifesto on how storytelling becomes the
only way in which we can reach a successful post-conflict that basis itself in a never changing
humanity.

110 111
 THE MANIFESTO
H I S TORY H A S A H UMA N FACE , A ND TH ES E
FACE S SH O ULD BE TH E ONE S TO TE LL I T.
Every human being, without exception or
precedence, have a history, a self, a soul,
dreams and motivations. Actions and thoughts
are always linked to a deeper purpose. The way
we act is partly conditioned by the life we were
placed to live, but this is often challenged by the
inner force that pushes us to act accordingly to
what we believe is the real truth. Call this force
conscience, call it compassion, call it sacrifice,
call it love, I call it our never changing humanity.
THE PAT H As human nature is beautiful, it is mainly
imperfect. It is often that what we believe leads
TH E us to do things that we perceive unfitting, or
even, force someone else to do something we
M OV E ME N T K I T
were once forced to do. Behind every act of
violence there is always a human motivation,
even when it is not the personal one of whom
perpetrates it.
112
As we should never forget what has been done,
the suffering caused by any due conflict and
the people that have both received and/or
spread the pain, we should also never assume
that the actions of the self, changes the nature
of the self. The actions of someone might be
considered as inhuman, but this shouldnt lead
us to call this someone inhuman. Even when our
actions spread fear and terror with the excuse
of following something bigger, we are all still
human beings with a never changing humanity.
Acknowledging a never changing humanity
in every human being that took a role in the
conflict, is the first step towards rebuilding a
conversation ecology within the post-conflict
context. Storytelling in diverse media is the
transformative tool to spread this notion. As an
empathy bridge, human stories become the very
first foundation to foreshadow compassion in a
wounded society, and build the path towards
permanent peace.
113
 LET IT FLY.

AN INSTALL ATION OF FLYING

PAPER STORIES, AND OTHERS

WAITING TO TAKE FLIGHT.

WRITE A STORY, LET IT FLY,

SOMEONE WILL PICK IT UP AND

THROW IT BACK.
EXPERIENCE
The installation consists in a mobile of hanging paper planes that hold banners with messages
from people that had left them behind. As people approach the hanging paper planes they
would also encounter non-flying ones with blank banners that only say Write a Message Let It
Fly. This will prompt people to write their own messages, take one of the hanging planed from
the installation, and replace it for theirs. This is a metaphoric representation of a self-sustaining
conversation ecology, where messages and stories transcend time and geography.
114 115
116 117
 FINAL
CHAPTER 5 THOUGHTS

118 Fig. 29 Via Unsplash - Daniel H. Tong

119
 THE PATH

TOWARDS RECONCILIATION

IS AN ECOSYSTEM

OF CONVERSATION

WHERE STORY TELLING EMERGES

AND EMPATHY MANIFESTS.

120 Fig. 30 Via Unsplash - Christopher Burns

121
 THROUGH STORY TELLING
WE ARE BUILDING A
CONVERSATION
ECOLOGY.

122 Fig. 31 Via Unsplash - Arnaud Jaegers

123
 I CAME TO REALIZE THAT THE ONLY THING THAT
CAN SAVE US FROM CHAOS IS SEEING EACH
OTHER AS HUMAN BEINGS AGAIN. SOMETHING
APPARENTLY SO SIMPLE, BUT WHAT HISTORY HAS
SHOWN US TO BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
If there was only something that I have learned
through this journey, is that history needs to
be told through the eyes of who once lived it.
CONCLUSIONS
History is not just a series of major events that
occurred in a specific time and space. It is about
the hands that felt it, the eyes that saw it and
the voices that told it. Not only history but every
story ever told should always have a human
face. This is the only way in which we will never
lose our humanity.
The lives we live, the stories we write and the
feelings we feel are bigger than us ourselves.
They exist so they can be heard, read and seen.
So that one day, through our testimony, people
remember that at the end we are small, fragile
and vulnerable. That in our smallness, we are
dust, and more than anything, human beings.
124 Fig. 1 Via Unsplash - Andres Jildn
I would like to conclude this journey with the
very first thing I wrote when I started my thesis:
I only know one thing about my thesis. I dont
want to either simplify, fully understand or
categorize what connects us and reunite us.
I want to arrive to contemplate, enjoy, feel,
translate or visualize what as a mere human
being I am permitted to reach. My aim is not
to concretize the intangible, but to initiate
a conversation between what we perceive
and what we dont. I dont seek to remove or
uncover the mystery of what brings us together,
but rather appreciate and contemplate it as
hidden as it is. Explore it while I acknowledge
that its complexity and its magnitude, I will only
be giving it a taste. But is this beginning, this
short contact, the one that will talk about its
infinity and my own smallness. The conversation
I will start with the hidden beauties of human
connection, will be the ones to be interpreted
and highlighted in my work.
125
 LEST WE FORGET AND THAT
THAT WAR AND COMPASSION
PAIN HAVE A IS THE ONLY
HUMAN FACE, STRING OF HOPE
WE HAVE LEFT.

126 127
 I BELIEVE IN A WORLD

THAT LISTENS AND ANSWERS,

AS WE LIVE SHARE AND EXPERIENCE,

THE STORIES WE WANT TO TELL.

A PLACE WHERE EVERY FACE OF PAIN,

IS SEEN AS A HUMAN BEING.

128 129
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Dubbberly, Hugh, and Paul Pangaro. What is conversation? How can we design for effective conversation? Dubberly
Design Office. N.p., 1 May 2009. Web. 11 Apr. 2017. <http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-conversation.html>.

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130 131