Cultivating Narrative Change in Collective Sensemaking

Azra Sungu's research is grounded in the premise that today's social and ecological crises cannot be solved using the same thinking that created them. The research focuses on collective inquiry into systems change as a space where design can help disrupt the entrenched mindsets and worldviews underpinning current crises. Her approach centers narratives as a powerful sensemaking mechanism that influences how societies interpret systemic issues and envision alternative futures. Through a series of studies within the food system, the research demonstrates how specific narratives of systems change are filtered and stabilized in collective articulation of systems change, enabled by diverse social and material contexts. These findings inform the narrative infrastructures framework, which serves as a compass for designers to navigate and disrupt these dynamics, leveraging the transformative potential of narratives in their practice.

Azra Sungu is a Fulbright doctoral scholar, designer and visual artist dedicated to elevating the collective wisdom and creativity of change-makers tackling complex social and ecological challenges. Her work centers on narratives as mechanisms by which societies make sense of, envision and negotiate systems change. Her research provides a compass for engaging with narratives in design practice, to leverage their capacity to surface diverse perspectives, disrupt entrenched mindsets and foster radical possibilities. As a researcher at the Food Systems Action Lab at ID and a food justice advocate, Azra collaborates with various communities and organizations in the pursuit of more sustainable, equitable, and just food systems.

This event can be streamed on ID's YouTube channel. No need to register.