Tuesday, 19 May 2026 — During the guest lecture “Digital Media That Moves People” at the Charles Himawan Auditorium, 5th Floor, Building A, President University Main Campus, Todd York, Digital Media Coordinator at BUILD Chicago, shared insights on the role of storytelling in addressing social issues. The event was organized by the International Relations Study Program at President University in collaboration with the YSEALI Reciprocal Exchange Program – U.S. Department of State.

Todd explained that traditional crisis narratives often focus on problems only after they have reached their worst stage. According to him, this approach can create reactive and fear-based responses while overlooking the deeper causes behind social challenges and the experiences of those most affected.

Instead, he introduced the concept of upstream storytelling, which focuses on understanding the conditions that create problems and amplifying the voices of communities closest to the issue. “People often engage only at the worst moment. We need to shift our focus toward understanding what created the problem in the first place,” he said, emphasizing that meaningful storytelling should help audiences see root causes rather than simply react to crises.