What is Exchanging Stories?
Exchanging Stories – Changing History invites young people from divided communities to meet and exchange their stories of conflict, and to engage in a new, shared, imaginative project that can end the gap and build a better future. Our goal is to empower and inspire a new generation of creative peacebuilders to transform conflict through empathic imagination and the use of digital media. After recording your conversation and submitting it to us, we will share the video documenting your encounter on our website and social media sites so that everyone in your community and beyond can get involved.
Foster change and inspire others worldwide to imagine a better tomorrow!
Exchanging Stories Videos
A Muslim and an Hasidic Jew reflect upon how discussing competing narratives can lead to mutual respect.
How do the youths of Maine understand immigration and their classmates through cultural and political change?
Two Peruvians bridge a cultural divide through their language, healing practice, and love for one another.
Two Brazilian teenagers from different socioeconomic worlds find equality through music.
A Congolese and Rwandan fall in love across a social and national divide.
A Palestinian and Israeli wear clothes characteristic of the other side.
A wall divides an Irish family: on one side are Travelers and the other the Settled.
An Armenian law student and Turkish scholar talk about their national identities and perspectives on Genocide.
Israeli and Palestinian students come together to discuss Jerusalem’s fledgeling national identities.
In a city divided by ethnicity and language, who is the guest and who is the host?
Four Northern Irish students explore the social, political, and geographic separation in their city’s history.
Get Involved
Individuals
Are you from a divided community and would like to participate in Exchanging Stories – Changing History project?
The Guestbook Project is looking for stories by and about young people who are willing to take a step towards peace or reconciliation by exchanging stories across a divide. If you an individual or pair who would like to participate, please check out the links below to resources, guidelines, and how to contact the Guestbook Project.
Organizations
Do you represent an organization that would like to participate in Guestbook’s Exchanging Stories – Changing History initiative? We are inviting peace educators and partnership organizations including Global Unites (Uganda, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Columbia, etc.), Fireflies Peace Council (Bangalore), School in a Box (Mozambique), Balkans Center for the Study of War and Peace (Zagreb), NerveCentre (Ireland), Stepping Stones (Boston), StoryCenter (CA), and the South Asian Jesuit Mission (Vietnam) to submit videos to Guestbook’s Exchanging Stories-Changing History Project. These videos will contribute to an online collection of international voices which will serve as models of creative peacebuilding for youths in divided communities all over the world. The ultimate goal is to empower and inspire a new generation of creative peacebuilders to transform conflict through empathic imagination and the use of digital media.