Storytelling for Social Change, our international virtual exchange program in partnership with The Stevens Initiative, helps students create and share stories about their community with their international peers. Meet the people who help to coordinate this program and help our students and teachers have a rewarding, successful, experience.
As the iEARN coordinator and Executive Director of TEARN in Tunisia, Hela Nafti was excited to take part in this 7-week program that focuses on intercultural exchanges and is embedded in the transformative vision of education that empowers students with global issues and life skills. Her pride was to listen to the moving testimonials of the students who showed ownership of the storytelling program during the showcase celebration of the videos. Hela saw that students clearly expressed their joy of learning differently, using new technology, discovering other students from remote countries ,yet sharing the same values and principles.
Above all, Hela is deeply convinced that this program has helped develop among students a sense of belonging to the world community. They will embrace the global citizenship values and will become the changemakers of a more resilient, sustainable and peaceful world.
Hela has been involved in iEARN for 20 years. It has been such an incredible experience, taking hundreds of teachers and students through a lifelong journey of online exchanges, building bridges thanks to projects and helping set up a community of teachers, whose ultimate goal is to achieve sustainable peace in the world.
Hela has seen that teachers are now making a difference in their schools and communities by offering quality education closely connected to the real world.
Kheira Mezough, Country Coordinator for Algeria, has been working with iEARN since 2009. It all started with 2 scholarships for online courses as a learner, then she was invited to co-facilitate an online course with an American teacher of Arts. Two years later, she was appointed country coordinator for iEARN in Algeria and had the opportunity to reach out to educators both nationally and internationally through many online courses, exchange programs and annual conferences.
When Kheira heard about the Storytelling for Social Change Program, she got excited as it is an important type of program for the new generation of learners, and at the same time, she found it a sustainable project for iEARN since it has been connecting people from around the world for so many years. This program is an opportunity not only for students who are engaged in the program but also for educators who are becoming members of this international organization, and our stories will keep iEARN alive as it will give many lessons to the world, mainly lessons about peace.
Christen Maguire has been the Program Manager for Storytelling for Social Change since December 2023. In this role, she supports school recruitment, financial management, reporting, and oversees the program implementation. Before joining iEARN-USA, Christen worked as an elementary teacher and has experience in international education in Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Nepal. Christen is based in Illinois and earned her B.A. in Psychology from the College of Wooster and her M.Ed in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania.
Christen’s favorite aspect of the Storytelling for Social Change program is watching the connections participants make during synchronous calls. These weekly calls provide real-time interaction, allowing participants to learn about and from each other. By the end of the program, many participants consider these connections the most valuable part of their experience.
iEARN-USA’s Storytelling for Social Change virtual program is funded by the Stevens Initiative, which is housed at the Aspen Institute and is supported by the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. To learn more about iEARN-USA and how to join this or other virtual exchange programs, visit https://projects.us.iearn.org/.
