28 May (Fri) Sessions • Rebuild

9:00am – 10:00am CONVERSATION Upclose with Christina Soontornvat

Comments Christina Soontornvat // Moderator: Denise Tan You’ve sent your questions for Christina Soontornvat on our social media. Now, join the Newbery award-winning author for a conversation as she shares about her writing journey, the creative process that goes into her books and what inspires her to keep on creating impactful and meaningful stories for readers. Tune in as she answers your questions about her middle grade books, picture books and chapter books! There will be a live Q&A segment during this session. This programme is supported by the U.S. Embassy Singapore.

PANEL How Stories With Local Wisdom Turn Into an Unexpected Lifesaver During The New Normal

Comments Debby Lukito, Tyas Widjati // Moderator: Chatarina Trihastuti Contemporary stories with local wisdom have been written time and again. Literary activism has enabled hundreds of titles containing native stories to be distributed to libraries and schools in remote areas in the region. When Covid-19 hit last year, the education system in Indonesia was pushed to adapt quickly in order to minimize the loss of learning. In this session, discover how those stories were used as effective teaching materials to save the lives of students, teachers, and parents during the pandemic.

10:30am – 11:30am PRESENTATION Writing for (the) Future (of) Children: Social and Environmental Justice in Picture Books from the Philippines

Comments Jose Monfred C. Sy // Moderator: Nor Lastrina Hamid Have you ever wondered if children’s books carry the capacity to represent the marginalised? How can children’s books cultivate a spirit of social and environmental justice in young readers? This inspiring sharing will showcase how books have the power to encourage young readers to challenge and resist systems of inequality, and remind them of their responsibility to build a better future, and leave a better world behind for the next generation.

10:45am – 11:45am PRESENTATION Who’s Afraid of Poetry?: Incorporating Poetry in Classrooms and Everyday Life

Comments Mariko Nagai // Moderator: Ann Ang Join Pushcart Prize-winning poet and writer Mariko Nagai in this session and learn how you can incorporate poetry in children’s classroom and everyday life. With the use of metaphors, imagery and alliteration, this programme will equip you with techniques and tips to expand children’s imagination and creativity. Learn how to incorporate poetry, verses and rhymes into everyday routines and discover how children’s language and confidence can blossom from it. There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.

12:00pm – 1:00pm PRESENTATION Mental Health Inquiry for Children by Reading and Storytelling Online

Comments Friska Titi Nova // Moderator: Joji Reynes Santos What happens when you mix reading e-books with video games and interactive elements? This presentation shares how lower and upper primary students respond, and provides insights on the effects of online and offline reading on children’s mental health. Librarian and literary activist Friska Titi Nova will provide an Indonesian perspective to this, along with recommendations and observable examples in her field of work. This session will be beneficial for parents and educators who are interested in their children and students’ holistic development with reading and storytelling.

1:00pm – 2:00pm PANEL Looking For and Using Digital Resources

Comments Siti Aisyah Binte Abdul Nasir, Wai Yin Pryke, Sarah Mounsey // Moderator: Christabel Sim What are the available digital teaching, learning and reading resources that are out there, and how can educators and parents select and use them at home and in the classroom? What are some of the strategies for using these resources judiciously? Join a librarian, a former educator, and a parent in this exciting panel discussion that showcases different unique perspectives on this topic. There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.

1:00pm – 2:00pm PANEL Saving the Environment One Book at A Time

Comments Lee Myung-ae (李明爱), Evelyn Bookless, Hwee Goh // Moderator: Melissa Low Climate change is a global threat, and there is an increasing need to take action now. How are we highlighting this critical topic to children? Are children’s books the solution? This panel will explore how climate change and eco-activism have been tackled with illustrations in children’s books and comics, and how a universal topic can be made interesting with captivating content. There will be a live Q&A segment during this session. This programme is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

1:30pm – 3:00pm PRESENTATION Stories of Strength: The Courage of Action

Comments Sunanda Verma // Moderator: Michele Newman Digital innovation has brought new avenues of expression. However, narratives that reflect the real-life experience of people overcoming adversities with their resilience, passion and action still retain their appeal. This session looks at the critical role of inspiring young minds and the need to document stories of diverse contemporary role models with the Namaste! series of books which bring diversity into school curricula around the world. The author will also share the importance of traversing boundaries to share amazing intercultural stories.

3:00pm – 4:00pm PANEL Promoting Creative Economies: The Thai Experience

Have you caught the latest Disney hit, Raya and the Last Dragon? Meet Thai artist Fawn Veerasunthorn, who was the head of story for the film. Find out how she led the team of storyboard artists for Disney’s first-ever Southeast Asian princess and the pitfalls, challenges and triumphs of Asian creators from a Thai creative’s perspective. Fawn will also share how Raya and the Last Dragon managed to be successfully authentic to the depiction of Southeast Asian culture. This session is presented as part of the Country of Focus: Thailand.

3:00pm – 4:00pm LECTURE 心坎里的绘本－绘本创作的儿童发展元素 Picture Books In Our Hearts – The Components of Child Development in Picture Book Creation

Comments 郑婉妮 Cheng Wan-Ni // Moderator: 苏章恺 Su Zhangkai Exclamation-circle This session will be conducted in Chinese 为什么有些绘本的议题能够让儿童那样喜爱呢？本演讲将剖析绘本与儿童发展的那些让幼儿 爱不释手的元素，让绘本能够进入儿童的心坎里。 Why are some discussion topics in picture books so well-loved by children? This talk will analyse the elements in picture books that young children are fond of, and how this enables picture books to captivate them. This lecture is accessible with the festival pass. If you do not possess the festival pass for the day of the lecture, you can purchase and register the ticket separately.

PANEL The Future of Audiobooks

Comments Eduardo Garcia, Michele Cobb, Shalu Wasu // Moderator: Charlene Shepherdson Audiobooks have been rising in popularity and are primed to grow even further. What are the trends of listenership and the future development of audiobook publishing? Join this panel to find out more.

3:30pm – 4:30pm PRESENTATION Impacting Children and Teens Using Digital Learning and Cross-Disciplinary Programmes

Comments Renu Siva // Moderator: Cheeno Marlo Sayuno Today’s generation of children and teens are highly immersed in digital environments. While there is a general acceptance of the inevitability of digital platforms, how do we wield this phenomenon as opportunities for learning, and as incentives for children to read while maintaining a balanced consumption of technology? Is there a way to utilise cross-disciplinary programmes to promote reading to children and teenagers, while getting them engaged in mother tongue language books at the same time? Find out in this presentation!

5:00pm – 6:00pm PANEL 能见/未见：插图中的现实主义和幻想 Seen/Unseen: Realism and Fantasy in Illustrations

Comments 阿果 Ah Guo, 孙心瑜 Sun Hsin-Yu, 刘旭恭 Liu Hsu-Kung // Moderator: Charlene Lai Exclamation-circle This session will be conducted in Chinese 一图可表千语，亦可各自包含数种诠释和论述。幻想和现实的模式是如何在绘本中表现出 来？插画家在描绘故事主题时又是如何在幻想和现实之间穿行？几位插画家将分享他们的想 法与各自的创作过程。 Pictures tell a thousand words and they can encompass multiple interpretations and narratives on their own. How do the modes of fantasy and realism play out in picture books? Hear from picture book illustrators who will share their thoughts in this panel. There will be a live Q&A Segment during this session.

PANEL Brave New Worlds / Strange New Worlds

Comments Rosemarie Somaiah, Alicia Dong-Joo Bang // Moderator: Jeffrey Tan How has the COVID-19 pandemic, global disruptions and technological innovation changed the nature of creating content? In an increasingly saturated online space, how do authors fight to maintain their unique stories? Join seasoned storytellers Rosemarie Somaiah and Alicia Dong-Joo Bong as they deep dive into these important questions, and how content creators can collaborate more, so that we can celebrate what it means to be writers and storytellers in these ever-changing times.

5:00pm – 6:30pm PANEL Crossing Borders: Children’s Books in Focus

Comments Avery Fischer Udagawa, Helen Wang, Lawrence Schimel, Nur-El Hudaa Jaffar, Vetri Moderator: Shelly Bryant This roundtable gathers six translators from different parts of the world, from the US to Thailand, and working in different languages, to engage in a special conversation. They will discuss ways to increase the amount of translated children’s books, how to get more people interested in reading translated works, the challenges that they face, as well as their hopes for the future of translation. There will be a live Q&A segment during this session.