Journalists, researchers, filmmakers and development communication experts have called for greater emphasis on impact storytelling, urging media practitioners and development actors to focus on the measurable changes development interventions bring to people’s lives rather than merely reporting project implementation.
The call was made during the inaugural Founding Conversation of the Impact Storytelling for Development Initiative (ISDI) held in Kano under the theme, “Documenting What Changed: The Future of Evidence-Based Impact Storytelling in Africa.”
Speaking at the event, Founder and Executive Director of ISDI, Ibrahim Ayyuba Isah, said the organisation was established to bridge the gap between development interventions and the human stories that reflect their real impact.
“Every development intervention has two stories. The first is the story of implementation. The second is the story of impact. While implementation tells us what was done, impact storytelling asks a more important question: What changed? ISDI exists to document that second story through evidence, community voices and ethical storytelling,” he said.
Participants noted that despite huge investments by governments, development partners and civil society organisations in development programmes, many stories showing how such interventions improve lives remain undocumented.
Chief Executive Officer of SIDES Media, Dr. Musa Sufi, described ISDI as a timely initiative capable of broadening conversations around development.
“It is inspiring to see an initiative like this coming from Kano. ISDI has given us another opportunity to make an impact. It provides more people with the opportunity to join the conversation and contribute to meaningful change,” he said.
Also speaking, Solutions Journalist and Host of Fitila Podcast, Musbahu El-Hamza, stressed that development reporting should examine both successful and unsuccessful interventions.
“Development stories do not only focus on what works; they should also examine what does not work and why. If someone tries to implement a solution and the intervention fails, who tells that story and explains why it did not work? That is equally important,” he stated.
The Head of News at Cool FM, Wazobia FM and Arewa Radio, Abdurrahman Isah, urged journalists to go beyond urban centres in search of stories that reflect real development outcomes.
“Building a school alone is not development. We can only call it development when it touches lives and improves the quality of life of the people living in those communities. That is the story journalism should be telling,” he said.
Other speakers, including Nafisa Murtala Ahmed of Express Radio and Khalifa Dankadai of KDC Foundation, highlighted the need for community-driven storytelling, accountability, research, collaboration and evidence-based documentation to promote sustainable development across Africa.
The event ended with participants committing to strengthen collaboration among journalists, researchers, filmmakers and development practitioners to document measurable change and amplify community voices.
ISDI also announced plans to establish the ISDI Academy to train young people, women, journalists, filmmakers, photographers and content creators in evidence-based impact storytelling and documentary production.
