E-037 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Cultural Story Nights

Use this as a starting point. Cross out what does not fit, add what is missing and make it your club's own.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry: E-037 · Cultural Story Nights
Theme: Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 3: Cultural Inclusion & Belonging
Source material: Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for belonging, culturally safe conversation, voluntary participation, privacy and consent; they do not constitute Rotary International, Australian Human Rights Commission or OAIC endorsement of the named Cultural Story Nights initiative or this locally designed delivery model.

Primary references consulted

Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary (Rotary International)
Used for: Rotary describes belonging, engagement and accessibility as central to how people grow together and create lasting change.; Rotary values visible and invisible differences and seeks a culture where each person knows they are valued and belongs.
Let's Talk Race: A Guide on How to Conduct Conversations About Racism (Australian Human Rights Commission)
Used for: The guide is intended for workplaces, community groups, faith organisations and other organisations conducting meaningful conversations about racism.; Clear purpose, respectful language, safe facilitation and an appropriate response to harmful commentary support a constructive conversation.
Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of Solicited Personal Information (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
Used for: APP 3 addresses when personal information may be collected and supports collecting only information that is reasonably necessary.; Sensitive information requires particular care and consent where the Australian Privacy Principles apply.
Chapter 6: APP 6 Use or Disclosure of Personal Information (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
Used for: APP 6 generally limits use or disclosure of personal information to the purpose for which it was collected unless an exception applies.; A separate later use or disclosure may require consent or another valid basis rather than being assumed from the original collection.

Candidate District material consulted

These records remain draft evidence and still need a human source decision.

Club Playbook - Theme 2
Related records 19 Cultural Snapshot Icebreaker and 30 Story Swap Circle – Cultures & Journeys support the broad idea of voluntary short cultural stories. Neither is a literal Cultural Story Nights record, and neither supplies this guide's cultural safety, consent, privacy, facilitation or complaint boundaries.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

4 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
8 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.

See each source's scope and limit

Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary
Supports: Belonging, accessibility, respectful participation and equitable access principles for renewal and club experience.
Does not establish: That a particular meeting model, membership pathway, leadership process or club culture is inclusive without testing with affected people.
Let's Talk Race: A Guide on How to Conduct Conversations About Racism
Supports: The 8 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: Accessibility or inclusion conformance, the needs or preferences of any person or community, cultural authority to act, the suitability of a format or venue, or local approval.
Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of solicited personal information
Supports: Data-minimisation, collection-purpose, proportionality and consent safeguards where the Privacy Act and APP 3 apply.
Does not establish: Whether a particular Rotary club is an APP entity or whether a proposed renewal survey, diagnostic or member record is lawful in its actual circumstances.
Chapter 6: APP 6 Use or Disclosure of Personal Information
Supports: The 21 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
Does not establish: Whether the Privacy Act or another duty applies to this club, whether consent is informed and valid, whether collection or publication is authorised, or whether the proposed safeguards are sufficient in the actual circumstances.

What still needs a person to confirm

Confirm the member, prospective-member, past-member and community needs, preferences and consent that the local design assumes.
Confirm which privacy, safeguarding, incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, food, liquor, copyright, licensing, screening and other duties apply to the club and the activity.
Test accessibility, cultural safety, belonging, language and alternative participation routes with affected people and recognise First Nations cultural authority rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
Confirm every local fact, starting point, cost, role, current service contact, measure, stopping condition and platform capability before the club decides to proceed.
Confirm the authority and current scope of each primary source, resolve login-gated or moved-page references and keep any candidate District material attributed and unapproved until its source decision is made.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

The club sponsor must approve the purpose, facilitator, story brief, consent choices, cultural safety controls and concern pathway before invitations are issued.
No storyteller may be asked or expected to represent a culture, faith, country, First Nations community or migration experience, and participation must remain voluntary throughout.
No name, image, quotation, recording, transcript or identifiable personal detail may be retained or reused beyond the person's specific permission and the permission of any other identifiable person.
Racism, trauma, safeguarding, complaints and serious conflict must be transferred to an appropriate private process; the event must not imply that one story is representative or carries Rotary International endorsement.

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: Use Cultural Story Nights to remove avoidable barriers so people from different backgrounds can belong and contribute on fair terms.

What is happening in our club or community now?What is the smallest useful version we could try? What will we leave out?

Board contactPerson leading the workPerson checking what happened

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Cultural Story Nights
Step	What we will do	Who could lead it	Our date	How we will know it is done
1	Ask a small, varied group what would make a story evening useful and safe, then write a one-sentence learning purpose and a list of topics the event will not explore.	Inclusion lead and event sponsor	Five weeks before the event	An audience-needs note, event purpose and approved boundary statement
2	Invite potential storytellers privately, offer several broad prompts and make clear that declining, changing topic, using a first name only or withdrawing will have no effect on their standing in the club.	Story coordinator	Four weeks before the event	A voluntary storyteller group with individual participation choices
3	Prepare each story in a private conversation, keeping it to five or six minutes, removing unnecessary identifiers and agreeing which questions are welcome, out of scope or better answered later.	Story coach	One to two weeks before the event	A storyteller-owned outline and boundary note
4	Open the evening with the purpose and listening agreement: be curious, do not generalise, do not repeat personal detail outside the room, avoid advice and accept that a storyteller may pass on any question.	Facilitator	At the start of the event	A shared listening agreement understood by the room
5	After each story, invite one clarifying question through the facilitator and use a neutral reflection prompt about what helped belonging, while stopping requests for proof, explanation or cultural representation.	Facilitator and table hosts	During the event	De-identified learning themes without a transcript or personal case record
6	Check privately with storytellers, close any concern through the appropriate pathway, confirm that nothing will be reused without fresh consent and assign one inclusion improvement for a 60-day trial.	Story coordinator and club sponsor	Within seven days	Storyteller follow-up, concern closeout and one owned club action

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
Question	What it means for us	Who will check	Done?
Check the idea with the people affected and confirm its purpose, owner and practical limits before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
Confirm venue, accessibility, safety, incident, cancellation and follow-up arrangements for the actual audience and setting.
A storyteller feels responsible for representing an entire culture or is pressured to disclose migration, discrimination, family, faith or trauma experiences. — Use private invitations and self-chosen prompts, state explicitly that no one represents a group and let a storyteller decline, change topic, shorten or withdraw without explanation.
Audience questions become intrusive, stereotyped, argumentative or harmful. — Route questions through a trained facilitator, brief the room before stories begin and stop or reframe any question that crosses a boundary, seeks proof or asks a person to defend a community.
A story shared in the room is repeated, photographed, recorded or used for promotion without permission. — Separate attendance, storytelling, photography, quotation and publication decisions; obtain fresh, specific consent for each later use and provide a clear withdrawal contact.
The event surfaces racism, distress, safeguarding or a live complaint that the circle cannot handle safely. — Publish the scope and confidentiality limits, name a private support and reporting route, pause the discussion and transfer the matter to an appropriate process rather than exploring it publicly.
The club sponsor must approve the purpose, facilitator, story brief, consent choices, cultural safety controls and concern pathway before invitations are issued.
No storyteller may be asked or expected to represent a culture, faith, country, First Nations community or migration experience, and participation must remain voluntary throughout.
No name, image, quotation, recording, transcript or identifiable personal detail may be retained or reused beyond the person's specific permission and the permission of any other identifiable person.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What matters	Where we are now	What we hope to see	How we will check	Who
After 90 days, review Cultural Story Nights. Look for a broader range of voices being heard, identified barriers being addressed and voluntary feedback showing a stronger sense of belonging.
Storytellers who received a private briefing and confirmed their topic, identity, question and later-use choices before the event.
Participants who can name one listening or inclusion practice they understood better, without naming or profiling a storyteller.
Intrusive-question, privacy, distress, discrimination or cultural safety concerns raised and the timeliness of the response.
One club practice changed or tested within 60 days, with an owner, check-in date and a decision to continue, revise or stop.

After 30 days

Is it reaching the right people? Is anything unsafe, unfair or harder than expected?

After 60 days

Make one useful change based on what people have told you.

After 90 days

Compare with where you started. Decide whether to change it, continue it or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

Cultural Story Invitation and Boundaries

Help each storyteller understand the event, choose a suitable topic and control what is shared before accepting.

Open supporting document

Cultural Story Night Facilitator Run Sheet

Give the facilitator a practical sequence and clear controls for a respectful, accessible evening.

Open supporting document

Learning, Consent and Follow-Up Record

Capture club learning without retaining personal story detail or assuming permission for later use.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

We have checked this

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

We have checked this

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

We have checked this

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

We have checked this

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

We have checked this

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

We have checked this

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

Event brief

Use this worksheet to plan who the session is for, when it will happen, how people can take part and what happens afterwards.

Open worksheet

Registration and follow-up log

Use this worksheet to map each step and keep only the information the club genuinely needs.

Open worksheet

Feedback form

Use this worksheet to hear what people experienced and decide what to change next.

Open worksheet