European partners from the UNESCO Cities of Literature met in Edinburgh to forge new ideas to improve literacy. Scotland’s Capital, UNESCO’s first City of Literature, hosted the first meeting of a unique European partnership group, The Story Valley initiative, from 27-29 October to coincide with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott.
The City of Edinburgh Council, together with Edinburgh College, welcomed Story Valley partners from three other European UNESCO Cities of Literature – Leeuwarden, Netherlands, Ljubljana, Slovenia’s Capital and Nottingham, UK – as the group came together to create new policy ideas as part of its manifesto to use storytelling to improve literacy skills while preserving and enriching cultural heritage through collaboration.
As part of the visit, the program has brought together the city’s literary sector and cultural partners – Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF), and Scottish Storytelling Centre – and showcased the exciting work and projects taking place in Edinburgh.
During the three-day program, Story Valley partners visited Edinburgh College to see the project in action, share best practices, and explore potential collaborations; visited the Scottish International Storytelling Festival. They also spoke to representatives from innovative projects happening across the city, including: Super Power Agency, a creative writing program using writing for confidence building amongst hard-to-reach 8-18-year-olds in Edinburgh; the Creative Words for Well-being project by the Scottish Poetry Library; Street Reads Library, a safe space connecting homeless people with books; the Digital Storytelling project by the Scottish Book Trust; and EIBF’s Citizen Project.
The program ended with a light spectacular on 28 October as the Granton Gasholder, recently brought to life in partnership with Edinburgh College, as part of the £1.3billion Granton Waterfront project, was illuminated in Story Valley colors.
The Story Valley initiative is funded by the ERASMUS+ Program of the European Union.
Photo: Fabio Scalici
Story Valley Partners Leeuwarden
Stichting Learning Hub Friesland
Friesland College
New Noardic Wave
Story Valley European Partners
Edinburgh City Council
Edinburgh College
Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature (voorzitter UNESCO COL)
Ljubljana UNESCO City of Literature (vice voorzitter UNESCO COL)
National Literacy Trust
Multimedia and Graphic Technology Secondary School Ljubljana
Story Valley associated partners in NL
Leeuwarden UNESCO City of Literature
Gemeente Leeuwarden
Provincie Fryslan
LF2028
Het Letterenfonds
UNESCO Nederland
