Our Future Stories: Approaches to Collective Storytelling for Climate Futures and Action Through an Integrative Review

This paper aims to investigate how different forms of collective storytelling can contribute to citizen creativity for the imagination and discussion on possible climate futures, as well the potential of narrative-driven practices for climate communication and action. With this purpose we have undertaken an integrative literature review, which allows us to critically engage with existing theory on the topic, comparing and synthesizing key ideas and arriving at specific insights to advance in the research (Torraco, 2005 [Writing integrative literature reviews: Guidelines and examples. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 356-367]; Snyder, 2019 [Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of business research, 104, 333-339]). Our conclusions point to: (a) collective creativity as a catalyst to elicit narratives and imaginaries; (b) the need for spaces for discussion about possible and desirable futures through narrative and creativity, involving experts and non-experts; (c) the tensions between present imaginaries or concerns and what is considered "proper" imagination about the future; (d) the need to enhance the narrative dimension of formal climate narratives through storyworlds, improvisation and iterative storytelling.