Sydney Story Factory - Supporter News Letter

Family and I decked in colourful clothing/celebrate my 10th birthday/on a very special day/A cost-efficient snack/at a very expensive food court. Poetry excerpt from Arthur Phillip High School, Parramatta.

The weekend before last, on a Saturday night, a very nervous 17-year-old ascended a stage in San Francisco. It was the only public event of the inaugural International Congress of Youth Voices, a three-day event bringing together 100 of the smartest, most interesting young people from around the world. We were asked to send a delegate and were delighted to offer that opportunity to our student Vivian Pham, whose first novel will be published in 2020. Vivian could barely breathe for nerves as she walked onto that stage, but she gave a rousing speech reflecting on her position in colonial history, her privilege and her responsibilities. She received a standing ovation, and was followed on stage by renowned Nigerian writer and feminist,Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who hugged Vivian and called her an inspiration. The Congress culminated in the creation of a group manifesto, published by the Guardian here. Vivian called the whole experience "life changing."


Clockwise from top left) Vivian Pham delivering her speech; Vivian (left) working with other delegates to draft the manifesto; group shot of all delegates at the International Congress of Youth Voices.

IT'S OFFICIAL: BILAL IS OUR LOCAL HERO! Much closer to home, we are delighted to announced that our Storyteller-in-Chief Parramatta, Bilal Hafda, has been named a Local Hero at Westfield Parramatta. The competition involved a public voting process, and Bilal can now be spotted on billboards throughout the centre. Said the judges: "It is impossible not to be moved by the sheer joy and energy he radiates as he and his team give their young charges a safe place in which to open up and tell their stories, either in writing, video or theatre." We couldn't agree more. Congratulations Bilal! Bilal Hafda, our Storyteller-in-Chief Parramatta ON THE SUBJECT OF AWARDS: PLEASE VOTE FOR US! More good news: we are one of three finalists in the Community/Social category of the 2018 Canon Oceania Grants. You can help us win it! The grants are intended to support schools, not-for-profits and community groups who are addressing both social and environmental issues in their community and inspiring change for future generations. Please vote for us by clicking this link before August 31st! We could win $4,000 worth of Canon equipment, and $1,000 cash. Thanks Canon! IT'S HAPPENING! CONSTRUCTION BEGINS IN PARRAMATTA We are thrilled that work is finally underway on our new Parramatta writing centre. Our architects, LAVA, have come up with a fabulous design (click through to see photos and a virtual model) that's sure to inspire all the young writers who come through our doors. We anticipate being open for Term 4, though nearly all our Western Sydney programs are already running. Watch this space.  Director of our Parramatta centre, Nikola Amanovic, looks at a virtual model of our workshop space. He's standing in the workshop space as it is now. LEARNING FROM OTHERS AROUND THE WORLD Our Storyteller-in-Chief Richard Short and Executive Director Cath Keenan recently came back from Word Up! in Amsterdam, the second international conference of writing centres like ours from all around the world. There were representatives of 16 organisations from 11 different countries, all there for three days to share their knowledge around programs, volunteer management, scaling and much more. It was an invaluable and enlightening experience that sparked numerous ideas for collaborations. Read more here. Clockwise from top left: Novelist and co-founder of 826 Valencia, Dave Eggers, talks with Saskia Noordhuis, founder of Noordje (which hosted the conference) and writer Abdelkader Benali; Richard Short presenting at the conference; the poetry phone at Noordje - for emergency poems!; all the delegates; a tutor with children at Noordje, reading the newspaper they'd written.

Until next time, thank you so much for your support. With best wishes from Cath Keenan and the Sydney Story Factory team

STUDENT OF THE MONTH: NATALIE  Natalie has been visiting the Story Factory after school with The Settlement for more than two years. She's an incredibly thoughtful and imaginative writer who has already developed a reflective practice. In a recent interview, she said, "I knew that after I got used to [the initial nerves], they were helping me with things I need help with." Her tutor Lorena (who has worked with her for almost this entire period), thinks she will in time be a "real force of strength and leadership for her peers." Natalie, keep up your amazing writing! Listen to an interview with Natalie right here – have tissues handy.

VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH: LUCIE TOWERS  Lucie has been with us for just a year, but in that time has proven exceptional in so many areas. She tutors wonderfully, she illustrates beautifully (she once designed a cover from scratch, from home, with a 20-minute deadline). Lately she's been spending hours editing short films from students at Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Waterloo, and mentoring high school kids in our Sunday morning Novella program. Lucie, we're humbled and awed by your commitment to our students – thank you so much for everything, and remember us fondly when you're leader of the universe.

TEACHER OF THE MONTH:  LUCA RIZZO Luca teaches at Centennial Park School, which works with students with mental health issues, and currently brings a full class every week to the Story Factory. The students have a wide range of perspectives on the world, and Luca works alongside all of them with respect and patience. He says: "As we provide a personalised well being-based program, we are able to support students in creative and multi-faceted ways that would otherwise not be possible in a busy mainstream school environment." Luca – thank you, you're tops!