RELATE Lab Pledge

At the RELATE Lab, we believe stories are a gift to be generously and voluntarily shared by a storyteller. That is why the RELATE Lab pledges to honor the rights of the Storytellers we engage with during the story collecting, editing, publishing and meaning making phases of the project. As the Storyteller, you are the keeper of your story, and thus, you are always empowered to ask for these rights. This bill is a resource to help you ask for what you need. We are committed to upholding these rights and to support others we work with on the project in upholding these rights.

Storytellers Bill of Rights

1. You have the right to not tell your story and to have that right respected without retribution.

2. You have the right to tell your story how you see, understand, and experience it.

3. You have the right to be treated with dignity at all times, particularly when sharing your story.

4. You have the right to set guidelines on where, how, and in what manner you tell your story.

5. You have the right to keep your name, your face, or any other identifying characteristics out of your story.

6. You have the right to see your story – in whatever form it is communicated to us, whether it’s written, audio recorded, or in a video – before it’s shared with the public.

7. You have the right to stop telling your story at any time including before you tell it, as you’re telling it, and even after months of telling it.

8. You have the right to share your story with as many people as you like.

9. You have the right to your story. It is yours. It is a gift. You can choose who, how, and whether to share this gift.

With these rights in mind, The RELATE Lab asks all Storytellers to sign a standard appearance release form to protect both parties in questions of content usage and editorial control. The Storyteller may, at any time and for any reason, choose to revoke this agreement and may ask to have their story removed from any public space, and have any or all files deleted from the RELATE Lab archives. The RELATE Lab will honor this request without question and will, in good faith, act on the request in a timely fashion.