Words. Rhythms. Images

11/09/2025

We are excited to announce that submissions are now open for the Humanitarian Story Circle, organised by WRI and Community World Service Asia and supported by ADRRN. The HSC is a platform to bring forward powerful voices of resilience, leadership, and community-led action.

This year, nine selected storytellers will have the chance to showcase their work on stage at the Regional Humanitarian Partnership Week 2025 in .

If you have a story to tell – in words, images, or audio – we’d love to hear from you.

All the details on how to take part are in the poster below.

You can also head straight to the submission form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeNPpA5q0nzIkjXKcqPcKbaI60AGypA8VsEIxiv_l0WlqHzQA/viewform

Deadline for submission: Sept 30th 2025.

07/08/2025

As part of our Community Action through Storytelling project, supported by ADRRN, we organised a community meeting with women from four low-income settlements in . In collaboration with A***N GROUP - NGO , we came together to discuss how extreme heat is affecting their daily lives and explore potential responses.

Led by .Prakash, Director at Greentech Knowledge Solutions- GKSPL, the conversations focused on informing these communities, especially the women, about low-cost, practical strategies for heatwave preparedness.

Over the next few months, we will be taking these conversations further to look at how storytelling can connect people, spark ideas, and open up spaces to share knowledge, experiences, and resources when it comes to mitigating .

Ajay Govind .sasindran Faizi Aleem Khan

05/08/2025

We recently conducted a community visit to four low-income settlements in Dehradun. Faizi Aleem Khan, who runs learning centres in these communities through A***n Group NGO, facilitated conversations with residents living in these areas who are vulnerable to the negative impacts of heatwaves and the growing impact of extreme heat. .prakash, Director at Greentech Knowledge Solutions- GKSPL, led the conversations as the subject matter expert.

This visit was part of our ongoing Community Action through Storytelling project supported by ADRRN. The project aims to strengthen local capacities in heatwave preparedness through inclusive communication, practical solutions, and community-led storytelling. By listening to lived experiences through door-to-door interactions, we aim to co-develop low-cost, locally appropriate responses that can help communities cope with rising temperatures.

04/08/2025

At the Regional Humanitarian Partnership Week 2025 in , WRI will launch the 'Humanitarian Story Circle', a live showcase that honours lived experiences from humanitarian and community resilience efforts across Asia-Pacific.

Nine storytellers will share their journeys on stage, while many more voices will be featured in our Story Gallery at the venue. The event is being organised by WRI, which is the Digital Storytelling Hub of ADRRN and Community World Service Asia, which leads the Quality and Accountability Hub.

Here is how you can make a submission:

We are offering a free online training session on 5 August, which will help you:

🎤 Craft authentic, powerful narratives
📱 Use your smartphone to record and edit impactful stories
💡 Build confidence to present your lived experience

You must attend at least one training session to be eligible for selection as a finalist for the Humanitarian Story Circle.

🔗 Register for the training here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/GuuS0L0IQrKRzB2yIUY-7g #/registration

10/07/2025

The journey itself is the story...

Storytellers live as much in the past, as they do in the future, while being firmly rooted in the present.

As we celebrate another year of WRI, we celebrate our journey with a great degree of humility and deep sense of gratitude.

Humility, because we know that the work we create will always be bigger than our growth story, and gratitude, because we know what an incredible responsibility it is to tell someone's story, and we take that role very seriously.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all our partners that have trusted us to capture and amplify their work. And to those organisations where we may have fallen short of expectations, we hope you at least saw that we put our best foot forward.

Because of the kind of work we have been able to do, especially in the last two years, we believe that we will continue to get opportunities to work alongside organisations and individuals who are doing meaningful work.

And none of this would have been possible without our team, and their commitment to the work we do.

01/07/2025

Watch this space!

We are excited to announce "The Humanitarian Story Circle", a creative storytelling event that honours lived experiences of humanitarian response and community resilience across Asia-Pacific, which will culminate at the Regional Humanitarian Partnership Week 2025 in .

Organised by ADRRN's Digital Storytelling Hub, led by Words. Rhythms. Images and Quality and Accountability Hub, led by Community World Service Asia, this unique event will feature 9 powerful storytellers in a live session, along with a Story Gallery of selected submissions.

Want to be part of it? Start with the first online training session on storytelling for social change.

Note: The training is open to all. Only those who attend at least one training session will be eligible to be selected as finalists for the main showcase at RHPW.

Register here for the first training session: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/zlAFQBvFQOmc7vZ_OeMfbw #/registration

18/03/2025

We were honoured to present at the webinar on "Disability Inclusion in Action: Lessons Learned" organised by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

We got an opportunity to talk about the transformative power of storytelling in mainstreaming disability inclusion. Through our Digital Storytellers for Social Change (DiSSC) project, we have witnessed that inclusive communication isn't just about accessibility—it's about representation, agency, and creating platforms where diverse voices lead the conversation.

We also got a chance to learn from the valuable insights of Dr. Renu Singh of Young Lives India, who showcased their approaches to disability inclusion.

This was such a special opportunity for us as we got to share and learn alongside other organisations committed to mainstreaming disability inclusion, as we are. This would not have been possible without our donor, Humanitarian Innovation Fund I ELRHA whose encouragement and support have got DiSSC to where it is.

16/12/2024

Enabling people, one story at our time!

Writer-Director Ajay Govind, known for his compelling storytelling and social initiatives, recently received the prestigious Helen Keller Award from the

07/12/2024

We will be at the Regional Humanitarian Partnership Week 2024 this coming week in .

We look forward to meeting other innovators working in the humanitarian space, learning from the interesting sessions we will attend and connecting with fellow ADRRN members.

WRI will also have a booth at the marketplace where we will be showcasing our flagship initiative, Digital Storytellers for Social Change, a project dedicated to empowering inclusive narratives and creating employment opportunities through digital storytelling.

03/12/2024

Today, as we celebrate the International Day of Persons With Disabilities we are thrilled to share some exciting news!

WRI's flagship project, Digital Storytellers for Social Change, has been recognised with the 25th NCPEDP Helen Keller Award 2024 under Category B: Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

This prestigious recognition from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) celebrates our unwavering commitment to fostering through and skill-building. By empowering individuals with disabilities to tell their stories and access opportunities, we aim to pave the way for a more inclusive and equitable world.

We extend our gratitude to NCPEDP and the esteemed jury for this honour. It strengthens our resolve to continue amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities.

Here’s to storytelling as a tool for change, and to a future where every voice is heard and every talent is valued.

.sasindran Ajay Govind

31/10/2024

Happy Diwali from the entire team!

29/07/2024

This is a special announcement!

We are excited to share that words. rhythms. images is now a member of the ADRRN - Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network.

ADRRN is a network of national civil society organisations across the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on transforming Asia's resilience to disasters. As a member of the ADRRN, we are motivated to work with the network to help pave a path for Asia, changing it from being the most vulnerable to disasters to the most resilient region!

Asia, let's make it resilient!