The status quo? Currently, social fragmentation and ecological crisis. In Eco-Social Design we are often tasked with designing for systems, spaces and interventions that respond to such crises. However, the onus should not be on what we design, but from where. What can truly shape our actions is not based on technique, theory or data, but within the stories that we share about the world, about each other and what is possible.
'Literacy' in this context becomes a profoundly expansive term; moving beyond the ability to simply decode but perceive and engage with the world relationally.
Long before the technological chokehold we find ourselves in presently, people gathered around fires. Under the stars, in circles around trees or in the depths of sonorous caves, reverberating stories that shaped how we understood and navigated the complexity of the world. Storytelling is one of mankind's oldest technologies, so why have we subbed voices for screens? It is therefore imperative to expand and centralize narrative, connection, and mythic literacies as central tools for transformation.
In disciplines like media studies, education, or mathematics, we regularly work with established literacies. In Eco-Social Design, we also have access to a rich body of literature, but we often lack clear, shared literacies. Not just what to read, but how to read the world through the lens of care, connectedness, and transformation.
So, we began to ask ourselves: What kinds of literacy are missing in our field? What ways of knowing, being, and acting should we cultivate if we want to create meaningful change?
We want to share three literacies that feel essential to us: Interpersonal Literacy, Collective Literacy, and Narrative Literacy. They are not final answers but starting points. Proposals. Invitations.
Narrative Literacy
Narrative Literacy is about understanding how stories shape our worldview and how our word choices can open up new possibilities or quietly close them off. It encompasses the power of language, the creation of myths, and our ability to imagine and tell new stories that can transform how we see ourselves and our world.
This Literacy helps us as well to uncover the hidden stories behind our systems and asks whose voices have been left out. Myths like meritocracy suggest success is earned and failure is deserved, ignoring privilege, luck, or structural barriers. These narratives shape what we see as fair or inevitable. Challenging them is the first step toward imagining something different.
In today’s world, the practice of deep storytelling has faded. We often begin conversations with job titles and credentials, rather than with the stories that shaped us. But what if we turned that around — what if we made space to meet each other through narrative first?
Kübra Gümüşay is a German writer and activist who organizes storytelling evenings. This storytelling evenings offer a glimpse of what becomes possible. Each person has ten minutes to tell their story, with musical interludes between. She describes these evenings as her vision of an ideal society: people connected not by status, job, or background, but by the stories that have shaped them.
We've never experienced a storytelling evening like this, but we remembered moments of meeting strangers and skipping all the small talk to share something deeply personal. It's one of the most special moments you can share with another human being. Have you ever experienced such a moment?
The absence of words can be just as powerful. A century ago, we lacked the term "sexual harassment." People experiencing it had only "flirtation" or "rape" in their vocabulary, neither of which accurately described their experience. Without the right words, it becomes nearly impossible to name, discuss, or address certain realities. Were there experiences in your life that you could not express with all the words your language provided? We definitely had these experiences.
As Eco-Social Designers, we must learn to tell new stories about interdependence, care, and regeneration. Language is more than a tool; it creates reality. We need a vocabulary that embraces emotion, complexity, and difference. Sometimes that means finding new words. Other times, it means changing how we speak and listen.
Interpersonal Literacy
The next Literacy we think is needed is about how we connect with others. It's about noticing what's really happening in a room, not just through words, but through pauses, looks, gestures, and unspoken feelings. It means showing up with presence, being open to others' experiences, and staying with them even when things feel messy or unclear.
This literacy helps us tune into what a group or conversation truly needs. Sometimes that's a moment of silence. Sometimes it's a question, or simply someone who listens without interrupting. It teaches us to hold space for one another, speak with care, listen with empathy, and build trust slowly over time.
In Eco-Social Design, where we often deal with complex emotions and deep-rooted challenges, this way of being with others becomes essential. Without it, we lose each other. With it, we create the ground for real collaboration and change.
Collective Literacy
The third Literacy we were thinking of is the ability to work together across boundaries. It's about sharing power, building trust, and creating meaning together. It requires us to move beyond individual perspectives and learn how to hold complexity as a group.
This literacy shows up when we co-create visions, make decisions together, or manage shared resources. It helps us understand how groups function, how roles and responsibilities can be distributed fairly, and how to navigate tension without falling apart.
The German writer and activist Kübra Gümüşay shows us this beautifully through her storytelling evenings. She invites up to fifty people to her home, most of them strangers to each other, to share true stories around themes like aging, shame, or loss. Strangers come together, everyone contributes something: a story, a dish, a presence. The event becomes more than the sum of its parts. This is what Collective Literacy makes possible: collaboration that is not just efficient, but alive, meaningful, and rooted in care.
The Path Forward
Together, these three literacies help us design not just with tools, but with awareness. They ask us to slow down, listen more carefully, and trust in processes that are relational, collective, and open-ended. They remind us that transformation doesn't begin with a clever idea or polished method. It begins with presence. With connection. With the stories we choose to tell and the relationships we choose to nurture.
We are in the business of creating meaning, and meaning is always created through stories, language, and myths. Now more than ever, we must design with care and intention. We must ask: What is sacred? What has been forgotten? What needs to be remembered? What kind of stories are missing? Whose voices have been silenced?
Title image by Youssef Naddam