Ideas like climate change and interdependence can feel abstract – or come wrapped in language that divides people. Local Storytelling Exchange translates them into stories about ordinary life. Its network of local journalists finds people changing how they work, travel, grow food or care for the places around them, and tells those stories through local media. The stories start with things that peopel already recognise in their own lives and cneighbourhoods. Emergence supports two storytellers in Scotland, helps grow the journalist network and tests ways to reach new audiences through hyperlocal social media. Through this work, we hope to learn how to communicate and work across different communities, starting with the everyday experiences and places people have in common.