International Storytelling Center Highlights
Changing lives, through the arts of storytellingHighlight ReelA forward-focused look at the workof the International Storytelling CenterThroughout the world, in every culture, people have told stories— at home and at work, when the harvest was taken in, thewood was cut and carted, and the wool was woven. And whilethe folk were telling their stories, so too were the bards and theminstrels, the griots and troubadours, who were the poets, singersand guardians of a people’s history.International Storytelling Center1 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Today, we still enjoy stories — listening to them, telling them — as deeply as didour ancestors, for our lives are bound together with stories; the tales, perhaps everso ordinary, that seem to catch us up and in some obscure, almost magical way, helpus make sense of our world. And since our lives are still intertwined with stories, itwould seem that the art of storytelling should have a forever unchanging place ofhonor in our history and culture. Yet this is not so. Despite its ageless power andimportance, this ancient folk art has, until recently, been forgotten — lost in a seaof print, film and videotape that is testimony to the media’s skill at filling us up withimages and ideas that were once the province of the oral tradition.National Storytelling Festival, Fresh Air PhotoBut during the late 1960s and early 1970s, there emerged throughout Americaa realization that we were losing our connection to the genuine one-on-onecommunication. In 1973, in a tiny Tennessee town, something happened thatrekindled our national appreciation of the told story and became the spark plug fora major cultural movement — the rebirth of the art of storytelling.Every October since 1973, thousands of travelers visit Tennessee’s oldest town.They come for one purpose — to hear stories and to tell them at the NationalStorytelling Festival; the oldest and most respected gathering anywhere in the worlddevoted to storytelling, has in turn spawned a national revival of this venerableart. Since then we have only grown as we embrace new genres and create amazingpartnerships around nation and the world as ISC continues to serve as a benchmarkfor the storytelling community, both nationally and internationally.Storytelling is the art form that helps to paint a picture of a world in harmony,helping to democratize our voices and as the art of storytelling continues to goviral, ISC remains at the forefront and at the heart of a changing world.International Storytelling Center2 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Storytelling for Peace and EmpathyWe believe that we all have the capacity to tap into our stories, our narrative assets,and communicate more effectively. In addition to our flagship programs, NationalStorytelling Festival, and 26 week Storyteller in Residence series, we endorse apartnership approach in order to harness the power of storytelling as we worktogether to build a better and fairer world.We were established in 1973 as an educational and cultural institution dedicatedto building a better world through the power of storytelling. In over 40 years, ISChas transformed a grassroots movement into a national and global storytellingrevival, professionalized the storytelling industry, and built a storytelling campus inTennessee’s oldest town.In this growth process, we formed key partnerships and collaborations withinfluential institutions like the Smithsonian Institute, Library of Congress, theNational Endowment for the Arts, NASA, United Way, Desmond Tutu PeaceFoundation, Alliance for Peacebuilding, Partners for Democratic Change, TheUnited Nations, The White House, Dollywood, Google, and many more.ISC’s National Storytelling Festival not only ignited a renaissance of storytellingthroughout America and the world, but is also recognized as the world’s first, largestand most acclaimed public event and institution devoted exclusively to the artsof storytelling. Through our public programs we host more than 26,000 visitorseach year, offer over 300 hours of live storytelling, and reach thousands of livesthroughout the year in unique diverse storytelling partnerships with our friends.In addition, ISC is active on the national and global stage, fulfilling its mission toenrich the lives of people around the world through the arts of storytelling. TheCenter partners with international and national institutions, grassroots movementsand projects, to reinforce the importance of sharing stories to build peace andunderstanding among peoples, divided groups, and nations. ISC is active innumerous projects to promote storytelling and peacebuilding across the UnitedStates and around the world.International Storytelling Center3 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Projects and Partnerships from Around the World:Research to Applied Storytelling PracticeFresh Air PhotoIn 1998, ISC hosted the first in a series of forums on appliedstorytelling practice. This pioneering work ignited theexplosion of public interest in applied storytelling practice.In 2004, ISC commissioned a comprehensive study onstorytelling in education, health, organizational development,and peace and conflict resolution. This groundbreakingstudy — Project Zero — became an ISC-led partnershipwith Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resultingoutcomes established ISC’s outreach peace initiatives andnational empathy building programs to strengthen our visionto build a better world, through storytelling.Smithsonian PartnershipIn 2014, ISC and the Smithsonian brought together culturalheritage and development specialists, educators, mediajournalists, filmmakers, public arts and festival planners,museum curators, and others to explore best practices incross-cultural interdisciplinary empathy building exchange.The project was geared toward using storytelling to confrontcontention in society, and also to use the arts and culture moreeffectively in building the story of a nation.Smithsonian AffiliationsIn 2017, ISC was a participating partner in the 50thSmithsonian Folklife Festival on Washington, D.C.’s NationalMall. The project focused on immigrant stories and drewhundreds of thousands of visitors.Fresh Air PhotoStorytelling and DiplomacyInternational Storytelling CenterVice President Al Gore attended the National StorytellingFestival in 1995, and helped launch the organization’sdowntown campus naming ISC “the epicenter of Americanstorytelling.” He talked about his experience using personalstories as a peace-building tool in international relations. ISCand the Vice President created a delegation of storytellers toWashington, D.C. to recreate a mini storytelling festival for adiplomatic event.4 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Courtesy of the Desmond Tutu Peace FoundationProjects and Partnerships, continuedDesmond Tutu Peace FoundationIn 2013, ISC partnered with the Desmond Tutu PeaceFoundation for an UBUNTU Storytelling project. The onlinesite featured National Storytelling Festival storytellers andinvited people everywhere working for peace to tell theirstories. In 2014, ISC supported a South African Delegation— inviting them to visit the National Storytelling Festival andproviding them with consultation to help develop their firstNational Storytelling Festival in Mandela’s legacy.Turning Peace Data into Peace StoriesIn 2014, ISC worked with the Institute for Economicsand Peace — producer of the Global Peace Index (GPI) —considered the world’s largest statistical study that ranks theworld’s nations according to peacefulness. ISC invited GPI’sfounder to help tell the story of peace and this project so theycan tell more nations and governments how to understand thisimportant economic data though story. GPI has been endorsedby Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Jimmy Carter, andHis Holiness the Dalai Lama.Changing Policy through StorytellingIn November 2016, ISC president Kiran Singh Sirahestablished and led a “Storytelling Circle” round table at theU.S. Senate with delegates from U.S. foreign relations andpeacebuilding representatives. The initiative helped frame theElie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2017.This bill promotes, as policy, regard for the prevention ofgenocide and other atrocity crimes as core moral responsibility,and strengthens State Department efforts and other agencyefforts at atrocity prevention and response.International Storytelling Center5 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Projects and Partnerships, continuedThe U.S. State DepartmentIn 2016, ISC helped the U.S. State Department develop astorytelling for cultural diplomacy toolkit to enable U.S.embassy staff and Foreign Service personal to use personalstorytelling for building connections with others. ISC advisedand helped on U.S. Native American and Ecuador indigenouspeople’s exchange, and trained visiting young leaders fromEgypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.Preventing War through StorytellingIn 2017, ISC collaborated with the Center for Civil-MilitaryRelations, an organization within the Department of Defenseat the Pentagon. Building on a dialogue between ISC and thePentagon that began more than a year before, we thoughthard about the challenges we face as a global community andhow we can use storytelling not just to enrich lives, but alsoto save them. The project was aimed at looking at storytellingas a means to prevent war and save lives, build betterinternational relations, and serve in a role to help develop aU.S. national peace strategy.United Nations—Storytelling for PeaceIn 2014, ISC partnered with the United Nations (NYC) tolaunch a global storytelling for peace initiative. The projectgave youth around the world a platform to share stories thatinspire peace. As a result, 24-year-old Velma Mukuro, finalistfrom Kenya, was mentored by ISC president Kiran Singh Sirahto tell her story live at International Peace Day at the UnitedNations. The event was hosted by Secretary General Ban KiMoon, Peace Ambassadors Dr. Jane Goodall and Yo Yo Maand live streamed worldwide. Around 500 million worldwideparticipate in International Day of Peace events. ISC continuesto support national and global efforts in Storytelling for Peace.International Storytelling Center6 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Projects and partnerships, continuedGeneva Peace WeekIn November 2017, ISC’s president, Kiran Singh Sirah,traveled to the United Nations in Switzerland, for the GenevaPeace Week, where he was recognized as a Champion of Peacefor his lifelong work as a peacebuilder, and for advancingstorytelling for the cause of peace.Rotary InternationalIn 2015 and 2017, ISC participated in the RotaryInternational World Assembly. The audience includedrepresentatives from all world nations and leadersrepresenting Rotary’s 1.2 million members, the world’s2nd largest NGO. ISC president Kiran Singh Sirah led aStories, Sustain, Peace program extended to the World Peacesymposium at a 10,000 global convention in Sao Paulo,Brazil, and in Atlanta, Georgia. ISC continues to offer supportfor Rotary intercultural initiatives across America.NASAStorytelling and SpaceInternational Storytelling CenterFor more than a decade, ISC has worked with NASA’s JetPropulsion Lab (JPL) on high-profile space explorationprojects. Focusing on education, ISC helped develop specialprogramming for the general public (through storytellingperformance), for schoolteachers (through regionalworkshops), and for JPL itself (by working with its scientists).In 2004, NASA invited Syd Lieberman into the control roomto witness the first Mars rover landing. Jointly commissionedby ISC and NASA, Lieberman later shared the story of thathistoric event with audiences in Jonesborough and beyond— the first in what would become a series of groundbreakingcollaborations between prominent storytellers and NASA.7 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Projects and Partnerships, continuedTelling Stories That MatterMike SnyderIn 2015, ISC launched Telling Stories That Matter a freetoolkit for educators, peace builders, students, volunteers,social change makers, and other individuals. The toolkitis being used in 18 countries worldwide. It is designed tohelp people and organizations explore storytelling to buildmeaningful conversations in an ethical and thoughtfulway. The toolkit supports numerous grassroots communitybuilding programs across the nation, such as the FergusonCommission, healing projects in Charleston, South Carolina,and other initiatives addressing community and policerelations and healing from violence.In 2016, ISC was invited to design and facilitate a series ofstorytelling programs to engage the public in Charleston,South Carolina, following the June 2015 shooting at theEmmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This tragic,racist event, took the lives of nine community members.ISC president Kiran Singh Sirah worked in partnership withCharleston Public libraries, church and city leaders, artists,students, educators and community-building activists. TheTelling Stories That Matter project used storytelling tosupport healing and educational inter-community dialoguefor people touched by violence over the years. The projectincluded a formal Proclamation of Storytelling Friendshipbetween the city of Jonesborough and Charleston.Above, Charleston, South Carolina’sEmmanuel African Methodist EpiscopalChurch. Right, Kiran Singh Sirah meetswith young people at Burke High School inChalrleston.International Storytelling Center8 Jonesborough, Tennessee
National Storytelling Festival, photo by Fresh Air PhotoStorytelling: a radical gift of hopeFor almost half a century, the International Storytelling Center (ISC) has beenat the forefront of sustaining storytelling as a traditional folk art, promotinginnovation and the integration of storytelling across disciplines. ISC serves as anational Learning Resource Center that facilitates efforts to incorporate the art ofstorytelling in promoting understanding, equity, and justice. We create educationaland professional tools, storyteller residencies, world class festivals, disseminateresearch, evaluative results and curate and share best practices in using the art ofstorytelling for peace and community-building.The first era of our history as an organization was about making a place forstorytelling in the world. We believe that the frontier we now face is to make aplace for the world (diversity, a global village) in storytelling.International Storytelling Center9 Jonesborough, Tennessee
We seek to develop our educational outreach initiatives to establish world classstorytelling within the arenas of community development, education, arts, culture,science, and public health — as well as global and national cultural arts and justicecollaboration.Through story we will seek to empower morecommunities to contribute, through powerfuland creative means, to help end world povertyand hunger. In addition, our work promotesequitable education and lifelong learningopportunities for all — in particular equalityfor women and girls, indigenous people,LGBTQIA, and economically disadvantagedcommunities.Our work promotes equitableeducation and lifelong learningopportunities for all.Through our continuing development of a comprehensive storytelling trainingportfolio, solutions-driven grassroots movements and organizations will gain accessto training and opportunities during special workshops, digital courses and onsiteprograms at our National Storytelling Festival . . . and through our growing youthand community summits, symposiums and community conversation round tables.These innovative Stories in Progress projects will further enhance our ability toactively respond to the needs of organizations around the nation who are engagedin poverty eradication, improving health and education, and promoting equity andunderstanding. ISC is poised as a leader to help other partners and organizationslearn, as we have done, to integrate storytelling into our thinking, planning, and asa viable tool for peace that fosters solidarity, dialogue, and civic engagement.A few of the Stories in Progress programs are highlighted in the following pages:Stories for Change, civic youth leadership; Stories for the Soul, healthpartnerships; Stories in Motion, responding to natural and human disasterrelief; and Stories for All, digitalization of a truly democratic art form.International Storytelling Center10 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Stories in Progress InitiativesStories for ChangeCivic Youth LeadershipAs a result of social and political divisions felt by young people in the U.S., ISCestablished Stories for Change; a project to expand programming to empoweryouth, communities of color, LGBTQIA and economically disadvantagedpopulations through storyteller training programs designed to foster social justiceand inspire civic engagement and leadership. The project builds on our existingyouth engagement for underserved youth, adding leadership Youth Summits andworkshops designed for at-risk youth and those vulnerable to violence.ISC is developing this model of applied practice to help inform teaching for itsown national digital storytelling broadcast and footage which now reaches morethan 45,000 people in hospitals, school classrooms, juvenile detention units, andeldercare facilities.ISC is working with teachers, schools, and community youth projects across thenation through initiatives geared toward empowering the next generation of civicleaders through storytelling. Our efforts will equip the next generation to be thestory of change they wish to see in the world. In 2017, more than 600 teachers,26,000 program attendees, 45,000 digital participants, and 1,700 at risk youthparticipated in these emerging projects.International Storytelling Center11 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Stories in Progress InitiativesStories for the SoulHealth PartnershipsBuilt on research that showed a strong link between stories and healing, in 2002,ISC brought storytelling to special new audiences: hospital patients. In partnershipwith a network of 14 hospitals, we produced a series of performances by masterstorytellers that were broadcast on a dedicated channel to hospitals. The initialprogram, Stories for the Soul, was later expanded to include recorded concertsfor pediatric patients and storytelling workshops in palliative care. Now, a livebroadcast goes directly on-screen into hospital wards. In 2018, we plan to designateour first community hospital as one of ISC’s Sites of Excellence. We hope to growStories for the Soul to help other hospitals and health initiatives.Photo by rawpixel on UnsplashPhoto by Janco Ferlic on UnsplashPhoto by rawpixel on UnsplashPhoto by Marcelo Leal on UnsplashThis latest project focuses on storytelling and public health needs. ISC is nowestablishing work with community members across the nation that fosters systemicchange, provides spaces for dialogue, and develops community-driven solutionsto the opioid crisis and other public health challenges — including violence, methaddiction, and obesity.International Storytelling Center12 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Stories in Progress initiativesStories in MotionResponding to Human and Natural DisastersIn the wake of recent hurricanes (Irma & Florence), and crisis events such asmassacres, shootings, terrorist attacks, and the rise of gun violence, ISC has beenpiloting a story-collecting support and consultation to grassroots projects acrossthe nation. In this initiative, we are developing a rapid response through storytellingwhereby local communities affected by wildfires, hurricanes, or violence can gainaccess to opportunities to tell their own stories. Using real time multimedia, Storiesin Motion empowers communities to share and tell their stories via a regular onlinefeature which examines these efforts, enabling national audiences to understand thepower of storytelling at work in our world.We see Stories in Motion as a longer term archival platform supporting ISC’scommitment to public and community documentation of these memories. Gatheredcontent may be added to story-maps as public record for generations, anddisseminated in programs such as the National Storytelling Festival or as part ofour national archive at the Library of Congress.International Storytelling Center13 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Stories in Progress InitiativesStorytelling for AllDigitization of a Truly Democratic ArtISC is working on digitization of its collection to both preserve and share thisstorytelling heritage with the nation. This presentation project will lay thefoundation for greater national programming and will help America celebrate thediversity of all its stories and unique cultural heritage. At a moment in history inthis nation when it is more important than ever to tap the power of story to bridgeunderstanding, this project will enhance the reach and advance storytelling as atruly democratic art form — one which belongs to the whole of us as a diversemulticultural nation. In sharing stories, we find those common threads that help usto build civility and to treat others as we ourselves hope to be treated. Storytelling— and story listening — not only fosters a sense of pride, but also connects ourdiversity, our history, and enables us to understand our national narrative fromdifferent perspectives, bringing a shared understanding that can help us foster abetter society for all.National Storytelling Festival photos by Jay HuronStorytelling for All will work to proactively involve groups and audiences fromAfrican American, Native American, Tribal communities, Asian American, andEuropean American populations. All will be invited to partner with ISC onidentifying aspects of the collection that are particularly meaningful to theircommunities and have potential to foster dialogue and promote communitydevelopment collaborations. We will actively invite these groups to partner in waysthat will enable them to recognize that the heritage in this collection belongs tothem and can be used to frame a story for today that speaks to a more equitablesociety for tomorrow.International Storytelling Center14 Jonesborough, Tennessee
The Future of StorytellingAs we move further into an era of conflict and social division, we need to find newways to tap into stories that build empathy and understanding that can competewith or overpower the stories of war and division. We need to shift the narrativeso the storytellers of tomorrow feel empowered to win more hearts and minds andoffer the radical gift of hope. We will reinforce the reality that stories build civilityand trust.As we think about long-term transformational growth, we’re seeking out biggerand ever more impactful projects that harness the power storytelling has to shift thenarrative towards peace.The International Storytelling Center is in a unique position tobe, not just at the heart, but also at the forefront of a changingworld. We hope you will join us in this important work, ourrevolution in storytelling. Stories are more than just a humanright. They are a gift we can give the world.International Storytelling Center15 Jonesborough, Tennessee
Peter Aaron, EstoConnecting the World through the Power of Storytelling116 West Main Street, Jonesborough, Tennessee 37659800-952-8392www.storytellingcenter.netIn association with the Smithsonian Institution 2018 International Storytelling Center, all rights reserved.
International Storytelling Center 6 Jonesborough, Tennessee The U.S. State Department In 2016, ISC helped the U.S. State Department develop a storytelling for cultural diplomacy toolkit to enable U.S. embassy staff and Foreign Service personal to use personal storytelling for building connections with others. ISC advised
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in discussing visual storytelling as a marketing approach for creating effective ads & the demonstration of advertising samples using visual storytelling as a strategy. Key words: Visual Storytelling, Communication, Marketing, Advertising, Media. *Corresponding Author: Doa
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Storytelling is beneficialincluding as a means of for children in many ways, expression and communication (Engle, 1999; Paley, 1990). Many technological advances for supporting storytelling are currently being developed. As much as storytelling has always been a pa
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