Socially engaged storytelling uses stories not just for entertainment, but to spark dialogue, reflection, and change in a community or society. Traditional oral storytelling provides the roots, methods, and ethos for socially engaged storytelling. It models how stories can be communal, participatory, and transformative—all central to storytelling as a tool for social change. As one of humanity’s earliest forms of communication, it carries with it the practices and values that continue to inform how stories function within communities today. Traditional oral storytelling not only anchors socially engaged storytelling in deep cultural and historical practices, but also offers a guiding vision of how storytelling can be mobilized today to strengthen communities, amplify marginalized voices, and catalyse social change.