To ensure a degree of consistency within the Community Reporting practice and how it is implemented, training on Responsible Storytelling is embedded into each Community Reporting programme. Responsible Storytelling explores: the ethics and values of Community Reporting; the type of content that people’s stories should and shouldn’t include; an exploration of permissions and consent; and how people can keep both themselves and others safe in online and offline environments. This process takes the form of a group activity in which Community Reporters discuss the aforementioned topics with each other and the Community Reporter Trainer.
During this reflective discussion, a Community Reporting Best Practice Guide is co-created that outlines a ‘code of conduct’ for that specific group of Community Reporters. This Best Practice Guide has the core principles and values of Community Reporting within it, but it is also nuanced enough to be inclusive and accommodating for the local context in which the Community Reporters will operate. In essence, each new group of Community Reporters produce their own Best Practice Guide that takes into consideration cultural factors (i.e. what is respectful within their communities), the legalities of their country (i.e. issues of consent) and who they are and how they will be using Community Reporting (i.e. what is ‘safe’ to them).