Carrying Story Across Borders in Portugal

Portugal was the first time I stepped into a global room not only to listen, but to speak. It was a space where languages, cultures, and lived experiences overlapped, and where story wasn’t being discussed in theory. It was shaping how people understood one another in real time.

I spoke alongside storytellers and community leaders from different parts of the world at a gathering centered on the idea of unmasking. I shared how narratives are inherited, how they get passed down through families and neighborhoods, and how much of what people believe about themselves is shaped long before they ever have a chance to question it. For me, unmasking is about slowing down enough to notice what has been layered on top of community identity, and making room for people to speak from a place that feels honest and grounded.

Being in that room made something very clear. Voice carries more than opinion. It carries memory, lineage, and lived experience. When we step into global spaces, we don’t arrive as individuals alone. We bring the stories of the places and people that shaped us, whether we name them or not. There’s responsibility in that, especially when those stories are often misunderstood or simplified once they leave home.

The theme of unmasking clarified how I think about my own work. Narrative isn’t just about what gets highlighted. It’s also about what has been hidden, flattened, or left out entirely. Every community holds its own knowledge. When people are able to define their own stories, they influence how their communities are seen, how they are valued, and where resources and attention flow. That’s the space my work lives in. Helping organizations think more carefully about how they tell stories, and who those stories are really serving.

Being invited into global spaces brings a different awareness. Voice doesn’t stop at language or geography. It moves between cultures, across histories, and into futures that are still being shaped. When you’re asked to speak in those rooms, you’re also being trusted to carry something larger than yourself, and that trust calls for intention, humility, and care.

I am grateful to CreativeMornings Lisbon and Storytelling Lisboa for creating a space where global voices could meet, share, and learn from one another, and for inviting a dialogue grounded in presence, reflection, and the power of story across borders.