Empire State University, USA, and North-West University, South Africa, facilitated an international conversation Inspiring Global Voices Through Digital Storytelling. This virtual event highlighted several authors who contributed to the book Teaching Digital Storytelling Inspiring Voices Through Online Narratives by Drs. Sheila Aird and Tom Mackey for Rowman & Littlefield.

This engaging conversation brought together thought leaders from South Africa and the United States. They explored how digital storytelling empowers learners. It also fosters intercultural connections. Each author discussed their chapter with a particular focus on metaliteracy. They then engaged in an interactive conversation about the transformative role of digital storytelling in education.

Opening remarks were provided by Empire State University President Lisa Vollendorf, Ph.D. In addition, Prof Dorothy Laubscher also contributed. She is the UNESCO Chair on Multimodal Learning and OER and Associate Professor: Self-Directed Learning, Research Unit Self-Directed Learning, Potchefstroom Campus. 

Inspiring Global Voices Through Digital Storytelling

The panel participants for this event included:

• Sheila Marie Aird, Ph.D. and Tom Mackey, Ph.D., from Empire State University will introduce their chapter Metaliteracy and Global Digital Storytelling: Building Shared Learning Communities.
• Dr. Brenda van Wyk, Ph.D., from the University of Pretoria, South Africa will discuss her chapter Digital Storytelling and Cognitive Justice in Academic Information Services in Southern Africa – A Story Waiting to be Discovered.
• Beth Carpenter, MLIS, from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo will explore her chapter The Metaliteracy of Memes: Having Students Track the Flow of Information.
• Muchativugwa Liberty Hove, Ph.D., from North-West University, South Africa will discuss his chapter Voicing and Agency Through Autoethnography.
• Logan Rath, Ph.D. and Kathleen Olmstead, Ed.D., from SUNY Brockport will introduce their chapter “It Was Awesome. No One was Telling Us What We Had to Write!”: Empowering Young Writers Through Digital Book Making.
• Thandiwe Matyobeni, MA, from Rhodes University, South Africa will discuss his chapter Reflections on Digital Storytelling as a Learner-centred Approach to Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Classrooms.