Description
Can neighborhood stories become tools for building collective care, a practice of shared responsibility for social and health challenges (Raap, 2022), by strengthening connections and revealing interdependencies? In Amsterdam Nieuw-West’s Wildemanbuurt, residents face structural health inequalities, social fragmentation, and stigma, yet the neighborhood also hosts rich informal care practices, cultural knowledge, and resilience.Through Stadsreporters, residents (including seniors, unemployed youth, and others) are trained to document positive local health initiatives on film. Prior research shows this improves mental health, reduces loneliness, and fosters belonging among storytellers (Kapteins, 2023). Here, we examine how these films can also benefit the broader community by connecting residents, organizations, and public spaces through shared narratives.
Films are co-created with local partners and shared in neighborhood “health kamers,” forming repositories of collective narratives. Using interview and story analysis, systems theory, and the Louis Bolk Institute’s Framework for Positive Health, we trace how stories ripple outward—shifting perceptions, strengthening networks, and activating acts of collective care across the physical, mental, social, and (natural) environment dimensions of health.
Our objectives are applied—building local networks, reducing stigma, improving access to resources—and methodological—showing storytelling as a powerful tool to create, measure, and communicate impact in collective care.
| Period | 31 Oct 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Story Lab Symposium |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Amsterdam, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |