Conferences

Find out about the Libraries in Afghanistan Project

Conferences and Festivals that Rukhsana has Presented At:

Winnipeg International Storytelling Festival 2007; Winnipeg, MB

American Library Association Convention 2006; New Orleans, LA

IBBY Congress 2004; Capetown, South Africa

Cuentos Literary Festival 2002; McAllen, Texas

Treasuring Every Kid’s Story: Nuestra Cultura 2002; South Padre Island, Texas

Michigan Reading Association 2003; Detroit Michigan

Reading for the Love of It; Toronto, Ontario.

Listen Up! Festival of Storytelling; Toronto, Ontario

17^th Annual Storytelling Festival for Adults; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Mission CISD’s 2^nd Annual Literary Conference; Mission, Texas

Wisconsin International Outreach Consortium; Madison, Wisconsin

R.I.S.E. Conference; Toronto, Ontario

Conference Presentations

The Muslim World in Children's Literature

This presentation deals with issues of inclusion and the portrayal of Muslims in children's literature. The presentation Includes a bibliography of acceptable resources that can help educators address these concerns.

Universality in Folktales

This program combines literacy skills with storytelling and multiculturalism to explore how stories can reach past racial and ethnic barriers to the humanity within all of us. By focusing on story structure, students will learn what makes a story universal and how to shape their stories.

Storymaking in the Classroom

This workshop picks up where the Universality in Folktales presentation leaves off. It involves practical exercises for teachers to conduct with their students that will tap into creativity followed by editing exercises that make the piece they’ve written, stronger. Also included are tips to get students excited about writing.

The Importance of Inclusive Literature in the Classroom

A healthy inclusive environment in the classroom is the ideal environment to foster learning and acceptance. Using her own experiences growing up as an ESL student as well as her experiences as an author/storyteller presenting in the classroom, Rukhsana discusses practical ways teachers can create an inclusive environment for all their students. Resources include a list of multicultural authors and websites that will facilitate this task.

Bringing Oral Cultural Stories to the Page

Students from predominantly oral cultures face particular challenges when trying to express themselves in literary form. This workshop focuses on strategies to bridge the gap between oral tradition and the written page. (This workshop was developed for the 2004 International Board on Books for Young People (I.B.B.Y.) South Africa Congress.)