NSN Year of the Regions Event:
Telling Stories, Changing Lives
with Storyteller and Human Rights Activist Laura Simms,
and Former Child Soldier and Author Ishmael Beah
South Central Region Conference, February 20 – 21, 2009
Columbia, Missouri
Laura Simms is an award-winning storyteller, recording artist, teacher, writer and humanitarian. Her remarkable performances of traditional stories interwoven with personal narrative have earned Laura Simms worldwide recognition and honors since 1968. Through the power of story she has become the American “mother” of Ishmael Beah.
Ishmael Beah stands as one of the world’s most tireless advocates for child soldiers and an eloquent spokesperson for the healing power of sharing the stories of one’s life. In his New York Times best-selling memoir A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, published in 2007, Beah, now twenty-seven years old, tells a riveting story, revealing for the first time the experience of child soldiers told through their own eyes.
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Friday, February 20
Storytelling and Compassionate Action, a Conversation with Laura Simms, Launer Auditorium at Columbia College, 1001 Rogers St. Admission $5.
7:00 – 7:30 PM. Laura’s books and CDs will be available for purchase and she will be available for signing.
7:30 – 9:00 PM Milbre Burch will interview this dedicated humanitarian about her international work employing both traditional and personal storytelling. With question period for the audience.
Saturday, February 21
Laura Simms Storytelling Workshop, 9:30 - 11:00 AM Columbia Public Library, 100 W. Broadway. Free. A workshop aimed at teachers, librarians, storytellers, community workers, youth workers and the interested public on telling stories of peace and justice as pathways to reconciliation. Free, but registration with the library is required. Limit 40 participants. Registration begins Tuesday, February 3. Call 573.443.3161 or email Sarah Howard showard@dbrl.org.
Lunch at Uprise Bakery, 10 Hitt St. 11:45 – 1:00 Join other conference attendees for delicious cafe food and conversation. Uprise is in the same building as Ragtag Cinema where the film screening will be.
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars Film Screening and Community Roundtable, 1:30 – 4:00 PM, Ragtag Cinema, 10 Hitt St., Admission $6. “Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars,” is a film by Zach Niles and Banker White which documents the band’s inspiring determination to fight back against the trauma of war through music. Following the film, director Zach Niles, Beah and Simms will join community members in a round table discussion of issues including human resilience in the aftermath of impact of war, the power of music and story, and the meaning of home and family.
Dinner at Sophia’s, 3915 S. Providence, 5:30 PM. Join other conference attendees for Southern European cuisine and conversation.
Making Peace, Heart Uprising, A Storytelling Concert for Adults by Laura Simms, 7:30 – 9:00 PM, Launer Auditorium at Columbia College, 1001 Rogers St. Admission $10. A solo performance of stories which tap into the magic inherent in both myth and our everyday events.
Encore Gathering after the show at The Upper Crust, 904 Elm St. Celebrate the concert, storytelling and storytellers! Fabulous desserts and full bar.
There is no conference registration or advance ticket sales. You do need to register in advance with the library for the workshop. Pay admissions at the door. All meals are no-host. For current information go to www.kindcrone.com.
NSN Year of the Regions Conference events are part of a four-day residency with Ishmael Beah and Laura Simms. Conference attendees are urged to attend the following public events on the University of Missouri campus.
Ishmael Beah and Laura Simms, Together, 7 PM, Wed, Feb. 18, Jesse Auditorium. Suggested Donation $8. Beah and Simms will read from their writings and share their stories in a presentation that captures their joint witness to the healing power of story.
Public Reception for Ishmael Beah and Laura Simms, 5:30 – 7:00 PM, Thurs, Feb. 19, Reynolds Journalism Institute. Free. Simms’ and Beah’s books and CDs will be available for purchase, and they will be available for signing from 6:30 – 7:00 PM.
Panel Discussion "Narrative as a Pathway to Reconciliation", 7:30 – 9:00 PM, Thurs, Feb. 19, Waters Auditorium. Free. A presentation by Ishmael Beah and Laura Simms with respondents from MU and community.
Photography Exhibit: Global Journalist, The Face of Conflict in Darfur, Central African Republic and Uganda by Gina Bramucci. Lee Hills Hall Rotunda, February 7 – March 7.
Presented by Kind Crone Productions, the Mid-Missouri Organization of Storytellers and the Storytelling in Higher Education (SHE), a National Storytelling Network Special Interest Group, with the collaboration and support of Columbia Public Library and Ragtag Cinema as well as MU Center for the Study of Conflict, Law and the Media; MU School of Journalism; MU Black Studies Program; the MU Center for the Arts and Humanities; Columbia College Department of Humanities/Speech Communications, Columbia College Unity in the Community Program. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the City of Columbia Office of Cultural Affairs, the City of Columbia Human Rights Commission and the National Storytelling Network.