LitWorld's Story21 Project Manager, Jennifer Estrada, is a featured speaker at the 2014 World Literacy Summit in April which is held in Oxford, United Kingdom. Jennifer's keynote, "Bridging the Digital Divide for Lifelong Literacy," will share LitWorld's LitClub model for social-emotional literacy learning.
Jennifer was recently interviewed by the World Literacy Summit to discuss her work and experiences around literacy and its power to transform. An excerpt from her interview follows, read the full interview here.
"I love stories, storybooks, storytelling and the power they have to connect humans and overcome differences. I have found that when all else fails to allow for mutual understanding, a well-chosen story can do just the trick. To enter into a story is to actively see the world from another’s perspective, from the perspective of the characters, the perspective of people in the story’s point in time or circumstance. Stories allow for incredibly joyful moments of empathy and compassion, exploration and comprehension. They break down barriers by creating common language and shared experiences, because the experience of the right story in the right moment can be as meaningful as one from your own life."