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The art of storytelling surpasses boundaries and reaches every corner of the world. It’s prevalent from time immemorial, and its traces found since the birth of humankind in forgotten myths, folktales and more. World Storytelling Day, celebrated on March 20, though transitioning from the traditional art of storytelling, is a more recent official day to celebrate the art and impact of oral storytelling. For many, it has now become a source of income. From gaining recognition to entering the mainstream, storytelling continues to remain at its core of telling stories and bringing communities together in the process. To gain more insights, continue reading.
Table of Contents
The Timeline of World Storytelling Day
Let’s start by getting to know when the day of celebrating storytelling started, in the form of a timeline.
| 1991-1992 | A national day of Storytelling takes place in Sweden. It’s called “Alla berättares dag” or All storytellers day. |
| 1997 | In Australia, a 5-week long ‘Celebration of Story’ is celebrated. During this time, Mexico was also celebrating March 20 as the National Day of Storytellers. |
| 2001 | A web network of Scandinavian storytelling started and eventually spread to Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Estonia. |
| 2003 | The event became known as ‘World Storytelling Day’ worldwide. |
| 2009 | World Storytelling Day is now celebrated in continents Asia, Africa, South America, North America, Australia and Europe. |
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Theme of World Storytelling Day 2023
The theme of World Storytelling Day gets changed per year on which storytellers base their celebrations all around the world. For 2023, the theme is mentioned below.
“Together We Can”
Based on the idea of inspiring change and building community, the theme of this year’s came into place. Storytellers are about to take this theme into consideration and narrate their stories around the many connotations of the same. To come and move forward together is the one aspect of this theme that can be focused on.
Importance of World Storytelling Day
The importance can be summarised within the below-mentioned points.
- The day celebrates the ancient art of storytelling that acted as a reliable medium for people to express themselves and narrate the world of creativity in oral form.
- World Storytelling Day helps forge a sense of connection and understanding between people (even during the pandemic, oral storytelling events seemed to move online and past borders in India).
- The history and major cultural events of a community are also contained through the expression of oral storytelling.
- A formal event dedicated to storytelling, in today’s time, allows people to take time out of their busy schedules, to invest in the enjoyment of a long-curated craft.
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How to Celebrate?
World Storytelling Day offers many activities and opportunities for you to engage in.
- Hold a mini storytelling event in your locality, gather children, and share stories with them.
- Attend a storytelling session conducted by a professional storyteller on the day.
- Organise a story walk where a group of storytellers gather together and conduct storytelling sessions on various landmarks.
- Promote the art of storytelling and encourage more people to participate in and attend storytelling events.
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Storytellers of India
Bringing into focus the storytelling of India, we have brought some of the most prominent names in the storytelling scene of the country. Below shared is a glimpse.
- Geeta Ramanujam
With more than 22 years of experience, Geeta Ramanujam is one of the best storytellers in India. She is the founder of the only storytelling academy that is recognised worldwide, known as the Academy of Storytelling. She is also the founder of The Indian Storytelling Network.
- Vikram Sridhar
The founder of Around the Story Tree, Mr Sidhar is known for his storytelling skills and sessions with children of varied ages in a range of cities. According to The Hindu, the storyteller carries at least 120 storytelling sessions to his name.
Moreover, storytelling groups such as Bangalore Storytelling Society (BSS), The Great Indian Storytellers, Mumbai Storytellers Society and more continue to be visible names in the storytelling scene in India.
FAQs
Ans. In the USA, National Tell a Story Day is celebrated on April 27.
Ans. World Storytelling Day is celebrated on March 20.
Ans. The theme for 2023 for World Storytelling Day is “Together We Can”.
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