Shifting Narratives
Reimagining Climate Narratives through Empathetic Visual Storytelling
A three-day workshop on conservation photography for transformation and connection
Facilitated by Stefano Carini
OKO Bohinj Photo Festival, Slovenia — 16-18 October 2025
Context
In the midst of overlapping ecological and social crises, visual storytelling is a powerful tool—not just for awareness, but for transformation. Yet dominant narratives around the climate crisis often focus on despair, destruction, and loss. While urgent, these images can produce fatigue, detachment, and even trauma reinforcing a sense of helplessness and disconnection.
Scientific research increasingly shows that chronic exposure to dramatic or negative media leads to psychological paralysis, news avoidance, and emotional burnout. In this environment, photographers have a critical choice: to either reflect the collapse or help shape the conditions for resilience.
This workshop challenges extractive visual narratives and invites photographers to step into a regenerative role—where storytelling becomes an act of care, imagination, and intervention.
Overview
Shifting Narratives presents a three-day intensive workshop for photographers and visual storytellers who want to deepen their practice, experiment with narrative shifts, and reimagine how they engage audiences in the face of ecological breakdown. Participants will work hands-on with their existing portfolios to re-edit, curate, and emotionally recalibrate their work. Through guided reflection, peer feedback, and collaborative exercises, they will develop new ways of seeing, framing, and narrating their stories—building toward a visual language that fosters empathy, imagination, and action.
Workshop Objectives
Regenerative Storytelling
Equip participants to move beyond crisis-driven imagery and toward narratives that support ecological and cultural resilience.
Radical Empathy
Deepen the emotional force of visual work through storytelling that builds relational connections between human and more-than-human subjects.
Dialogue and Feedback
Cultivate a collaborative space of reflection and learning where participants exchange insights and reimagine their narrative strategies.
Narrative Innovation
Encourage experimentation and meditative editing processes to unlock new pathways in conservation photography.
Workshop Details
Exact dates in October: 17, 18, 19 of October 2025
Festival name and venue/location in Slovenia: OKO Bohinj Photo Festival, Slovenia
Total number of participants: 15 participants
Workshop fee: 300 euro (240 for early birds until September 21st)
What’s included in the fee:
Full participation in all workshop sessions
Individual guidance and mentorship
Light refreshments during sessions (tea, coffee, snacks)
A small welcome token from Bohinj
How to apply: Apply by October 5th 23:59
https://oko.bohinj.si
https://www.bohinj.si/en/events/ or by email to: festival@bohinj.si
Language: the workshop will be held in English
Structure
DAY 1 — Grounding & Reflection
Welcome and introduction to Shifting Narratives
Lecture: The psychology of visual narratives
Portfolio review & emotional tone analysis
Group dialogue: From raising awareness to activating imagination
DAY 2 — Reimagining Narratives
Editing sessions: Emotional reframing & sequencing
Group work: Narrative reconstruction & experimentation
Peer-to-peer feedback and facilitator guidance
Curating from a regenerative perspective
DAY 3 — Projecting Forward
Visioning session: Future work as intervention
Drafting of a project statement or narrative concept
Story presentations & individual critique
Group reflection and closing circle
Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants will:
-Have re-edited and reframed a selection of their work using regenerative storytelling principles; -Gain tools for integrating hope, empathy, and cultural resilience into their visual practice;
-Develop a draft project proposal or narrative concept for future work;
-Leave with a revised portfolio suitable for editorial or exhibition contexts;
-Build confidence in curating and presenting work for advocacy, editorial, and community-facing platforms;
-Leave with a renewed sense of direction and pur pose in their visual storytelling.
Who It’s For
This workshop is intended for intermediate to advanced photographers working in conservation, social documentary, or environmental storytelling. Participants must bring an existing body of work to critique and revise. The workshop is held in English and open to international applicants.
Guest speakers/facilitators: online presentation by András Zollai and Maroussia Mbaye:
András Zoltai (Hungary)
András Zoltai is a Hungarian documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer focusing on socially and environmentally critical issues. His long-term project, “Blue Memoir,” examines water crises in Hungary, reflecting on the physical, social, and spiritual dimensions of water in a landlocked country. Zoltai’s blend of journalistic and conceptual approaches offers a poetic yet critical lens on climate change, making his work a compelling addition to Shifting Narratives.
Maroussia Mbaye (Senegal/France)
Maroussia Mbaye is a Franco-Senegalese documentary photographer with a background in international development, having worked with institutions like the African Development Bank and the United Nations. Her photography focuses on social divisions, complexities, and justice, aiming to capture human life in perspective-shifting ways.
Mbaye’s work embodies the principles of Shifting Narratives, emphasizing the importance of preserving cultural heritage and promoting social justice through storytelling.
Facilitator
Stefano Carini
Stefano Carini is the founder of Shifting Narratives, a network using visual storytelling to connect ecology, culture, and resilience. A Creative Director, curator, and educator with 15+ years of international experience, he has led projects across Europe and the Middle East, from conflict zones to cultural institutions.
Formerly Creative Director at NOOR Images and co-founder of DARST Projects, Stefano works at the intersection of storytelling, fundraising, and program design. His exhibitions—including Over My Eyes and Map of Displacement—have been shown at venues like the DOX Centre and Jakopič Gallery.
Now based in Torino, he focuses on climate storytelling, urban reforestation, and regenerative practices, collaborating with communities to use visual culture as a tool for change.
