Newsday ( Trinidad and Tobago )
27 March 2023 ( Page 3 )
NGC Children's Bocas Lit Fest storytelling caravan returns
77WWillar WAREVIIMarr41111111111111111111aStfara Children facilitators pose with Dragonzilla and their storybooks at the 2019 NGC Bocas Lit Fest Storytellng Caravan. PHOTOS COURTESY BOCAS LIT FEST Dragonzilla and one of the children in the 2019 NGC Bocas Lit Fest Children's Caravan in Couva. .1¦111•64111trillaN.77,1Th Lalonde Ochoa facilitates a storytelling session with in the 2019 NGC Bocas Lit Fest Children's Storytelling Caravan in Couva. After a threeyear break due to covidl9, the NGC Children's Bocas Lit Fest Storytelling Caravan is back in full force and in the flesh, with the beloved Dragonzilla mascot and professional storytellers who will entertain and inspire children at ten locations throughout TT. The Storytelling Caravan starts its monthlong journey of fun and creativity on April 1 and concludes on April 29 at the annual festival. The 2023 NGC Bocas Lit Fest runs from April 2830. The caravan exemplifies the National Gas Company (NGC)'s and the Bocas Lit Fest's dedication to ensuring and inspiring the development of a new generation of readers and writers. It also seeks to empower children by envisioning themselves as published writers. During these free sessions, professional storytellers tell their own tales, then encourage the children to craft a new story based on a suggested title, unleashing and guiding their creativity and inspiring them to value selfexpression through the written word in a story writing workshop. The contributions made by the children in each group are recorded and then edited and published in a colourful book, with all the participating children listed as authors. Myles Lewis, head of corporate social responsibility at NGC, reiterated NGC's ongoing support for fostering a love for literature. "NGC is committed to the cause of sustainability, and literature plays a central role in sustaining the cultural heritage of communities and societies, and by extension our identity. "The Children's Storytelling Caravan ensures that we create that spark for our next generation of writers. "NGC is proud to be title sponsor of the Bocas Lit Fest and Children's Caravan, and we hope that our efforts continue to unearth the next generation of great Caribbean writers:'