Happy International Literacy Day!
This day is always very special for us. 6 years ago, we started the ‘One Day, One Story’campaign. From 250+ volunteers, we have grown to a tribe of 5700+ volunteers!
Last month, when we sent out the registration form, it started filling up in no time. From an organization that asked us to send them a poster to invite more educators to the program to an organization that conducted a storytelling workshop for their teachers, from a new storyteller to one who was mobilizing a team of storytellers across Delhi, from government schools to international schools – the diversity of this year’s program is exciting to see!
Champions have been preparing to share the story of ‘Kottavi Raja and his Sleepy Kingdom‘ to children across the country. “How many champions?”, you ask.
In the 6th edition, the ‘One Day-One Story’ campaign will see :
Sessions in 26 Languages
5700+ Champions
6300+ Storytelling Sessions
Thousands of children listening to stories
This year’s chosen book is Kottavi Raja and his Sleepy Kingdom (written by Yasaswini Sampathkumar and illustrated by Henu). Kottavi Raja had trouble sleeping. Only at night. During the day, when his ministers discussed complex problems, he’d find himself nodding of?f. He asked everyone for remedies. Nothing seemed to work. Until… Travel to Kottavi Raja’s land through this book and see what happened next.
Yasaswini Sampathkumar, the author, is ecstatic, almost incredulous, about how many people have signed up to be volunteers. “I’m really, really, really thrilled that a story I wrote in a moment of frustration with my son’s sleeping habits has been translated into so many regional languages,” she adds. September 9 is special to her on two counts: the fact that her story will be told and retold across the country and beyond its borders, and because her son turns three. Her family is planning to celebrate the occasion with children in IIT Guwahati, where she lives, with stories — including Kottavi Raja… — in several languages.
The story will also be narrated in 13 other countries. While the story is available in 5 languages, our sparkling community has translated the story in 13 new languages on StoryWeaver and the story is being told in around 26 languages. These translations include Indian languages like Surjapuri, Sanskrit, Konkani, Kumaoni, Urdu and international ones like Bahasa Indonesia and French.
A majority of this year’s sessions are slotted to take place on 9th September (so that more people and children can participate). If you’ve just found out about our International Day celebrations, fret not! To conduct your own storytelling session, please register, download the book and share it with a child/children.
HOW TO BE A #PBCHAMP
- Download the book in :English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Odia. You can also access translations done by volunteer translators in Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Sanskrit, Kumaoni, Surjapuri, Punjabi, Konkani, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Sinhala, Urdu.
- If you are reading to younger children, you can use the re-levelled version in English and Marathi.. There is also an image-only version for those who may want to project the story.
- Choose the place and time you want to conduct the session. Identify places where you can conduct this event in your city – A government school, an NGO, a library, a bookstore, a park, a train, your building…any place with regular kids footfalls. Approach the organization and explain the concept to them. Most of them will be happy to host you.
- Prepare for your session. Read the book a few times. If you are reading to a younger age-group, see how you can tell the story without actually reading the book (to retain their attention).
- You could also add an activity to your session. Take a look at the activity ideas we’ve shared this year.
- After the session, send us a short write-up or send us some photos from the event and we will feature it on the champions blog. Mail us at champions(at)prathambooks(dot)org.
Our friends at Radio Mirchi have recorded the books in English, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi. Click on the links to listen/download the stories. You can play the story out for an audience of children too.
If you want to attend a session, we as well as some of our champions are conducting events that are open to the public. Check the full list here.
If you are sharing pictures/news about your event, please use the hashtag #PBChamps on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter so that we and other champions can also follow your updates. You can:
Tweet us at @prathambooks
Find us on Facebook at : www.facebook.com/prathambooks
Say hi on Instagram at : @pratham.books (note : there is a dot between the two words)
Join Pratham Books and 5700+ storytellers in sharing the joy of stories.
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About the campaign :
At Pratham Books we have a dream, to see “A book in every child’s hand”. We understand that to reach the 200 million + children in India is going to take a while. In the meantime, we decided to take ‘One Day, One Story’ campaign to as many children possible on a single day throughout the country.
This initiative is part of the Pratham Books’ Champions program where we encourage our community of volunteers to conduct reading sessions. These sessions are conducted free of cost and mostly with children from under-served communities. The Pratham Books’ Champions program is a one-of its kind volunteer program that has scaled to a national level with more and more volunteers wanting to join us in this movement.