Tehran – The 26th International Storytelling Festival dedicated a special award to work with themes of sacrifice and resistance, organizers announced.
The special awards in the international section of the festival are set for upcoming editions, using the resistance theme and supporting children in Gazan and Lebanon, festival secretary Aliyekabami said at a press conference in Tehran It’s there. on tuesday.
“This year’s festival features international participants, which has been greatly boosted compared to the previous year,” Qavami said.
Over 34,000 submissions have been received this year, a significant increase over the past few years, with 25 participating countries currently increasing compared to last year’s 14.
The festival welcomes 15 foreign guests and presents a range of storytelling talents. The main theme of this year’s festival will focus on supporting children in Gaza and Lebanon, with special sections focusing on sacrifice and resistance.
Having established itself as a successful venue for the festival, Yazd City will once again serve as the host of events, and its reputation as a global hub for storytelling is solidified by upcoming festivals.
“As a result, Yazd has been designated as the capital of storytelling,” she said.
She said the festival expands from four storytelling categories to 13, highlighting the importance of making the event more accessible and inclusive.
Additionally, she concluded that a mobile theater will be set up in Yazd to enhance audience engagement.
On his part, Hassan Sadrei Alev, secretary of the international division, highlighted the universal nature of storytelling, saying that the international category was added to the festival in the late autumn.
A total of 70 works from 25 countries, the festival’s notable submissions were narrowed down to 50 selected entries following a thorough review and evaluation process. This year’s lineup will feature 15 talented storytellers from Italy, Lebanon, Tanzania, Syria, Thailand, India, Niger, Congo, Japan and Brazil.
In the highlights of this edition, famous Lebanese storyteller Sarakaseir will be engaged in both workshops and performances, bringing extensive experience to share with festival participants.
In his speech at the conference, Hamed Aramati, director of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) at the Institute of Intellectual Development in Iran, said the importance of storytelling as a powerful tool for organizing knowledge and information. emphasised its unique abilities, emphasising its ability to engage and communicate. Complex ideas in attractive ways.
“Storytelling embodies a deep cultural approach that turns content into a message.”
He also marked a quarter century of storytelling festivals this year, and over the years the event will expand outreach to include grandparents beyond children and teenagers, thereby enriching storytelling stories. I explained.
“We consider our obligation to use storytelling as an educational tool. We believe that it should be incorporated into education packages, and that even specific curriculum topics can be relevant to storytelling. “We’ll do that,” added Alamati.
This year, the festival also includes themed storytelling, with storytellers being sent to venues such as hospitals and children’s education centres on special occasions.
He highlighted that the essence of a story is more important than its presentation, and noted that prioritization is prioritized in storytelling.
Regarding the diverse sections of the festival, Aramati has included traditional, classic, modern, innovative storytelling, podcasts, minimalist storytelling, 90-second stories, poetic, environmental, religion, science, heroic stories, and more. We mentioned including additional categories. .
He added that 34,000 submitted stories have been seen this year, with 600 being selected for the national section and reduced to 98 stories, which ultimately reached the final evaluation stage.
Continuing, he noted that the festival is one of the oldest of its kind and that there are important storytelling events around the world. However, the Institute’s festival is the most comprehensive as stories arise from the tradition-rich Iranian alleys and streets. He expressed his hope that the media would support the better awareness surrounding the event.
The 26th edition of the International Storytelling Festival will be held at Yazd from February 15th to 18th, with the motto “The secrets of stories shape life.”
sab/