NIM Center’s 6-week long storytelling workshop ends in Boston, US

By Emeka Ozumba

The 6-week long workshop on African storytelling traditions which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, USA has come to a glorious end. The workshop which was organized by the New Immigrant Multi-Service Center Inc, a Boston-based non-profit organization, was designed to teach youths from African immigrant families (aged 14-24) the elements of African storytelling traditions in a bid to reconnect them to their roots and guide them into a deeper understanding of their dual heritage.

Fifteen participants underwent the intense programme at 1220 River Street, Hyde Park in central Boston and through interactive experiences, creative writing assignments, readings and public speaking exercises and performances, the explored the elements, forms and cultural significance of storytelling across diverse African cultures.

During the programme, the workshop’s seven faculty members sought to teach cultural pride and creative writing skills and instill a strong sense of community in the participants, reminding them that their stories were important and encouraging them to write and share their own stories.

In specific terms, the participants were taught key topics like Oral Tradition and Performance, Storytellers and Griots, the Art of Storytelling in Today’s World, Proverbs, Riddles and Wise Sayings, Animal Tales and Trickster Stories, Exploring Identity through Stories and many other approaches to storytelling that make African storytelling a unique experience.

While bringing the workshop to an end last Saturday, the Executive Director of NIM Center, Mr Godwin Nnanna, observed that storytelling was one of the great attributes of leaders, citing great leaders like Martin Luther King Jnr and Nelson Mandela as leaders who had a gift for storytelling and who had deployed their narrative skills to shape the struggles of their peoples for freedom and justice.

According to Nnanna, “Leaders are great storytellers. The expectation is that you will occupy leadership positions, whether it is in business or politics, civil rights or religious circles, it is very important that you understand the power of storytelling.”

Giving insight into the workshop, Nnanna revealed that the workshop treated topics like African proverbs and wise sayings. “James Eze was very helpful to us in that regard. Most of the students even went on to craft their own proverbs. Some of those proverbs still ring in my head today. They harvested proverbs from different African contexts and we would want them to keep that tradition by enriching their expressions with wise sayings and proverbs. We also treated stories as medicine and Dr. Godknows Osarhiaekhimen tried to help us understand how stories could serve as medicine,” he further revealed.

Among faculty members were the Executive Director of NIM Center, Nnanna, poet and writer (author of dispossessed, goosebumps and I Touched a Dream), Eze, Dr. Godknows Osarhiaekhimen, Prof. Agnes Ezeji, Mr Charles Awodu, Prof. Edith Awogu-Maduagwu and Mrs. Nkechi Abraham.

The workshop series is an interventionist effort by NIM Center with the sponsorship of the City of Boston to keep youths from the African immigrant community meaningfully engaged during the summer. Mr. Nnanna expressed profound gratitude to the Mayor of the City of Boston, Michelle Wu and her team for sponsoring the programme and thanked all the faculty members who devoted their time and talent to give African youths in Boston a taste of their storytelling heritage.

African storytelling traditions workshop in session… in Boston, US