11 different countries, 16 different organizations; 147,000 children.
From July 11 to 14, sixteen 826-inspired organizations gathered together to share knowledge and learn about the international landscape of writing, education, and youth voice. 826 National teamed up with Noordje, an organization that runs art and language projects at schools and in neighborhoods for students aged 6 through 18 in Amsterdam, to host Word Up! in their beautiful writing center in Amsterdam. The Word Up! conference focused on the importance of students worldwide being able to advocate for themselves and their communities through the written word.
Noordje students proudly read aloud their newspaper articles and interviewed 826 National co-founder Dave Eggers.
We came together to share, learn, plan, inspire, and talk about how writing is the creative tissue that connects us all.
La seconde journée de la conférence #WordUp18 à #Amsterdam nous donne l’occasion de faire mieux connaissance avec le magnifique travail des différentes organisations qui travaillent la relation entre les jeunes et l’écriture en Amérique, Europe et Océanie ? pic.twitter.com/OSL8aV9xm4
— Labo des histoires (@labdeshistoires) July 12, 2018
En danois, en anglais, en italien, en allemand, en suédois ou en néerlandais, la créativité des enfants, adolescents et jeunes adultes d’expérime dans une diversité de langue ?? pic.twitter.com/XnCJahU23D
— Labo des histoires (@labdeshistoires) July 12, 2018
Participating Organizations:
- 100 STORY BUILDING Melbourne, Australia
- 826 NATIONAL, San Francisco, United States
- BERÄTTARMINISTERIET Stockholm, Sweden
- GRIMM & CO. Rotherham, England
- FIGHTING WORDS Dublin, Ireland
- FRONTE DEL BORGO Italia, Turin
- LA GRANDE FABBRICA DELLE PAROLE Milan, Italy
- LE LABO DES HISTOIRES Paris, France
- LITTLE GREEN PIG Brighton & Hove, England
- MINISTRY OF STORIES London, England
- NOORDJES KINDERKUNST Amsterdam, Netherlands
- ORDSKÆLV Copenhagen, Denmark
- PORTO DELLE STORIE Florence, Italy
- SUPER POWER AGENCY Scotland, Edinburgh
- SYDNEY STORY FACTORY Sydney, Australia
- W-ORT Austria, Lustenau
“The conference was an incredibly meaningful time to meet with 826-inspired organizations from around the world,” said Kait Steele, Director of Operations. “Our conversations highlighted the ways students are exploring and amplifying their voices at each of the organizations—and how this work and these stories are part of a global movement.”
A big thank you to all the participating organizations for a successful and inspirational conference! We look forward to the work we will do to protect, uplift, and amplify student voice around the world — together.
