Articulating Change: Advocacy as an Act of Storytelling

The purpose of this four-part series is to continue highlighting the valuable connections between language skills and everyday areas of life and work. The framework of this series positions advocacy as an act of communication and storytelling by tying each topic to a mode of communication as defined by the Performance Descriptors. Attendees will hear personal and professional stories from special guest speakers with language experience and an understanding of how different types of communication impact audiences. Attendees will then hear from JNCL-NCLIS leaders about how we see this type of communication value in our advocacy and have the opportunity to participate in a professional development activity and debrief to build experience and confidence in three-modes driven language instruction that serves as a great language advocacy tool. Professional development attendance certificate for 2 hours included. 

Articulating Change: Advocacy as an act of Storytelling 

Date: January 12th, 2023 4PM ET

Subtopic: Language at the Intersection of Journalism and Storytelling 

Key Takeaways: Storytelling is an important and impactful way to develop understanding and connection that engages advocates and grows perspective.

Featured Speakers: 

Rebecca Roberts

Deputy Director, Library Events Office, Library of Congress

Rebecca Roberts is an award-winning educator, author, and speaker, whose books include The Suffragist Playbook: Your guide to changing the world; Suffragists in Washington, DC: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote; and Historic Congressional Cemetery.  The International Literacy Association named The Suffragist Playbook the best young adult non-fiction title for 2021.

Through her career, Rebecca has served many roles, including a journalist, producer, tour guide, forensic anthropologist, event planner, political consultant, jazz singer, curator of programming, and radio talk show host. 

Akash Patel

Vice Chairman, National Council, United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA)

President, ACTFL

Mr. Akash Patel is the Founder of Happy World Foundation Inc. (www.happyworldfoundation.us), an international nonprofit organization that promotes global citizenship education in schools and communities worldwide. In 2018, Patel, a Spanish and Mathematics teacher with Dallas ISD, was selected as a Top 50 finalist from over 30,000 teachers for the Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award that is granted annually to one teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. In 2020, Patel was elected to the National Council of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) to serve the 2020-2024 term. He was also appointed as the chair of the Global Engagement Summit, the largest gathering of American grassroots changemakers and global activists in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations and the chair of the UNA-USA Educators Affinity group that helps educators from across the United States champion the Sustainable Development Goals in their classrooms. In 2021, Patel was inducted in the International Literacy Association’s 30 Literacy Leaders Under 30 list, elected as the first polyglot immigrant President of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and granted an “Einstein” green card by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In 2022, Patel was featured as TIME’s Innovative Educator of the Year and elected Vice-Chairman of the National Council at UNA-USA. Patel is a recipient ofseveral national and international honors for his work with anti-bias global education. He speaks six languages and has traveled to over 50 countries.