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Rules

When contributing your story, these rules will help to guide you to become part of the map.


The leading research question is -> What do you need to learn about the animal to put yourself into their perspective?

When getting into direct contact with animals, keep in mind how to negotiate a common understanding:

- Can you find a shared language? If not, just observing is also good!

- Respect a “no” from their body language, for example if they move away from you or show they’re not interested differently, don’t follow them.
 - Ask yourself how can you be respectful in the specific context and with the specific animal?

- Don’t force anything onto another animal!

- When you offer something, for example food to a wild animal, inform yourself if the food is healthy for them and reflect if it’s appropriate to feed them and how, because you’re looking for a connection on eye-level.

- Rather be too careful in your approach than not enough and risk harm.

You are the creative translator


Let’s imagine you meet someone who doesn’t speak the same language as you – how could you try to understand each other?Maybe you would point at something with your finger to show, use your body language to express yourself, touch and allow being touched or even use your voice in a simpler way than usual. 

In your story your role as a narrator is in parts that of an adventurous translator between different species. Like a cat gently grooming a dog, a cleaner wrasse fish dancing for another reef fish or a bird signaling a safety warning for the whole forest population.
The goal of this map is to find many new perspectives we have never imagined even existed before today. As a narrator you’re invited to put yourself in the hooves, paws or fins of other animals, as you were them for a moment. The creative imagination lies not in a eccentric fantasy character, that itself didn’t exist before, but in learning about an amazing little world that was there all the time around us, but we didn’t dare to understand. Let’s dive into the deep, dark, unexplored sea of multi-species storytelling and find out what hides at the bottom of the ocean!


Tell a story from the perspective of an individual animal!

ASK YOURSELF:
What is the non-human-given name of your animal? They may call each other by *mmchuuiiia*, *grrrr* or *kikeriki*:

How do they communicate?

Which senses are developed differently compared to us humans?

What would be (un)pleasant for them?

Which constraints do they face in a human environment?

How do they collaborate with other animals?

WRITE YOUR STORY: 

Describe all your senses throughout the story vividly, because this can make the difference between a human perspective and an animal observing the same thing. There is no need to introduce your character in the beginning, your audience will get to know you throughout. Don’t shy away from tough, uncomfortable moments in captivity, because experiencing them closely will make the resolution in the end feel much better. While writing, enjoy the moments, the atmosphere and the scenery you create.
Let’s go!