The International Storytelling Center is enriching the human experience through the power of storytelling.
Through our work, we are creating new possibilities to animate the human spirit, enhance the imagination, strengthen education, preserve and renew the world's fading cultures, revitalize the soul of healthcare, inspire leadership, and build peace and understanding among peoples in conflict.
The Center is pursuing its work, currently only in the initial development stages, through three core strategies:
The Center is developing and conducting an international advocacy program to inspire and empower people around the world to know and share their stories, renew their storytelling traditions, and use storytelling to enrich their lives and work. Our premier advocacy tools are the National Storytelling Festival and the Teller-in-Residence Program.
The Center and the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress are developing a national and international program to collect, preserve, and disseminate information and materials about the traditions, practice, and application of storytelling.
The repository for this information and materials will be the International Storytelling Collection—located at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The Center will provide on-site and online access to the Collection at our facilities in Jonesborough.
For current access to the International Storytelling Collection at the Library of Congress contact the American Folklife Center; folklife@loc.gov; 202-707-5510.
Stories are one of the most important tools that can create a connection with people, making a positive impact, time after time, every time. Recent research confirms that stories are the single most powerful and effective communication tool available.
The International Storytelling Center helps put storytelling into action within organizations through a series of educational opportunities that teach the performance, preservation, and professional practice of storytelling.
By introducing the power and possibilities of storytelling, ISC creates a connecting point for a community of learners and provides resources for understanding the creative applications of storytelling. The Center’s educational programs teach how to produce effective stories and communicate them in a way that is organized, polished, and structured.
Effective storytelling has become the lifeblood of hundreds of community service organizations, including nonprofits. Working with staff, donors, community groups, and volunteers requires communication that helps lead, inspire, teach, and inform.
Now more than ever, it is necessary for organizations to tell inspiring, convincing stories. Good stories deliver results, change minds, and create new beliefs and attitudes through influence.
ISC’s educational courses teach:
The International Storytelling Center is always looking for opportunities to partner with organizations to help them achieve their goals through the application of storytelling. Whether presenting curriculum created by storytellers and instructors for ISC or developing a customized program for a specific organization, we can assist you in fulfilling your organizational needs.
Currently ISC’s partnerships include United Way of America and Jet Propulsion Laboratories.
Click here to request more information about ISC learning opportunities.