When Pratham Books launched StoryWeaver two years ago and openly licensed all the content on the platform under CC-BY4.0, we had an inkling of the potential the idea had. In the last 24 months we have been blown away by the amazing ways our community members have used the power of open licensing to adapt the content on StoryWeaver to answer certain needs in classrooms and other learning spaces.

BooksThatSpeak.com is one such initiative. The platform hosts audio and video versions of children's stories in Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati. Many of the stories are from Pratham Books.  Asawari Doshi, who runs the platform lives in Pune with her husband and two daughters and works part-time on reading and creating audio and video versions of stories for BooksThatSpeak.com.

Q: Tell us a little bit about why you started BooksThatSpeak.com

A: My aim behind starting this initiative was to create a medium through which more kids can listen to and read the fantastic stories that are published by Pratham Books. I currently read out books in four languages that I am familiar with (Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English).

But wait, my daughters (age 9 years and 4 years) and my niece (3 years) also are part of the Books That Speak team. You will hear their sweet little voices at the beginning and at the end of the stories, along with their signature tunes. 

 

Q: How did you discover the StoryWeaver platform? 

I got introduced to the lovely books published by Pratham Books around 6 years ago when my daughter brought some books home from her school library. I (even more than my kids) have been in love these books since then. We must have around 30 books published by Pratham Books in our little book cupboard at home!

From Pratham Books website and blog, I got to know about the StoryWeaver platform around 2 years ago. I was so happy to know that so many of these books are now freely available for everyone to read and also to re-purpose in multiple ways.

Q: What made you want to create audio versions of the books and make videos with them for YouTube?

A: My kids were the inspiration to start  this initiative. They just love stories. But more than reading the books themselves they keep asking me to read stories to them. I love reading the stories to them too. My husband suggested why not share this joy with many more children. That was the start of BooksThatSpeak.com 

Initially, I started creating audio versions of the books but as I read the books, I felt that the creative illustrations add so much to the experience so that's why I started creating video stories as well using the illustrations.

I must say that I personally enjoy the process of selecting which book to read next. As part of this process, I get to read to a lot of books from the StoryWeaver platform. All of the books are so good, that it makes the decision making very hard :) but I am not complaining because I get to read all these fantastic books. 

Q: Where does your love for storytelling come from?

My background in in IT. But, I have been an actor in amateur theatre in my village in Konkan for many years. I think that may have been my accidental training in storytelling. Also, thanks to the inspiration from my father, ever since I was a child I used to read lots of books. I also remember that as a child I used to be mesmerized listening to Pu La Deshpande (A renowned Marathi author and my personal favourite) reading out and enacting his books. I think I might have picked up the liking for reading books aloud from those early years.

5. Do you have any plans for taking these stories to children? 

As of now, Books That Speak are available as podcasts on the several platforms like iTunes, Sticher and Player.fm.  The stories are also available as videos on our YouTube channel.  I read stories in Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi and English. In future, I would love it if I can find other volunteers who want to join BooksThatSpeak.com and read out stories in other languages like Bengali, Urdu etc. 

I hope to connect with government schools so that they can download and play these audio or video stories for children in their schools. 

6. What kind of feedback have you received from the online community for your recordings? 

I am getting to hear a lot of positive feedback from the children and their parents for these stories. I think though that most of the praise really is deserved by Pratham Books, StoryWeaver and the authors, translators and illustrators who have created these books and made their work Open Source.

Some feedback for BooksThatSpeak.com:

"Aunty, I love these stories! Why do you record only one story every day, start recording 2 or 3?"

"Beautifully narrated stories. The changes in voice for different characters make the stories a lot of fun."

"My kid's goodnight sleep starts with these stories, thank you Asawari!"

"My child loves the stories and enjoys the ae-roo-waao-ee signature tune at the beginning and end of the stories"

"These audio stories are very helpful to keep kids engaged during long travels. It's much better than them playing games on the phone all the time"

Here's a photo of me reading my favourite Pratham Books to my daughters!

Thank you Aswari for this wonderful platform and taking the joy of reading to more children with your efforts! If you'd like to get in touch with Asawari head over to BooksThatSpeak now!

Are you using StoryWeaver content in interesting ways? Write to us at [email protected] and tell us so we can feature you on our blog.

 

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“Linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as more and more languages disappear. Globally 40 per cent of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand.” - UNESCO International Mother Language Day website

Since 2000, the United Nations has observed February 21 as International Mother Language Day to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This year, StoryWeaver marks the occasion by opening a gateway to digital libraries in 100 languages for children across the world and thereby addressing the scarcity of books for children in their own languages. 

To achieve the milestone of 100 languages, StoryWeaver has collaborated with a global network of organisations and individuals who are helping create this vast resource of children’s storybooks, as part of its ‘Freedom to Read’ campaign. 

                                                                  

Our partners encompass national and international organisations, as well as language champions who share our passion for creating reading resources for children in their mother tongue languages. Partners like Azad India Foundation, AfLIA (African Library Information Associations and Institutions), Darakht-e Danesh Library, Little Readers' Nook, North East Educational Trust, REHMA, Right To Play, SNS Foundation, Suchana, Unnati Institute for Social and Educational Change and language champions like Agnes N.S. Nyendwa, Amit Dudave, Ana Jovic, Ankit Dwivedi, Kaye Suscang, Maharani Aulia and BE Priyanti, Nguyen Dac Thai Hang, Priya Bhakthan. The languages are varied - from mainstream languages like Afrikaans, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu, tribal languages like Gondi, Korku, Kora and Santali, endangered languages like Occitan to indigenous languages like Chatino, Mixe and Triqui and underserved languages like Assamese, Basa Jawa, Basa Sunda, Bhojpuri, Bundelkhandi, Igbo, Marwari, Sindhi and Surjapuri,

Collaboration has been the cornerstone of the StoryWeaver community, and the high quality of the translations - endured by a rigorous system of peer review - stands testament to the commitment of every contributor to "Freedom to Read".

These partners will take these digital reading resources even further - to serve children around the world, and help them read in their mother tongue languages. AfLIA (African Library Information Associations and Institutions) will roll out their continent-wide reading promotion ‘Read Africa Read’ with the same storybook titles in different languages across Africa. The Ghana Library Authority has already downloaded a book translated into Ewe in the e-readers in the Library and read it aloud to children on the World Read Aloud Day. The SNS Foundation in Rajasthan is working towards building a hyperlocal library of 100 Marwari books which will be used in 1,500 schools in Rajasthan. 

The troubling statistic of 40% of the global population not having access to education in a language they speak or understand translates to over 2 billion people who would benefit from having books in their mother tongues. 

“Through StoryWeaver, increasing access to quality reading resources for children has been made possible like none other. We are also grateful to collaborate with like-minded partners whose primary mission -- like ours -- is to get every child to read,” shares Suzanne Singh, Chairperson, Pratham Books.

Click here to take a look at a short video on the Freedomto Read journey. 

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Every year, StoryWeaver marks International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in an effort to remind us that learning to read in one’s mother tongue early in school helps reduce dropout rates and makes education more engaging, meaningful and enjoyable for children. Focused on the co-creation of digital books in multiple languages, StoryWeaver’s ‘Freedom to Read’ campaign is now in its 5th year of giving children across the world the opportunity to read in their mother tongue. 

WHO CAN APPLY?

I belong to an organisation. Can we take part?

Yes! We welcome all organisations - non-profits, social enterprises, for-profits, ed-tech startups - committed to spreading the joy of reading in local languages and working in the spaces of education and literacy to apply to join hands with us towards this ambitious endeavour.

I'm an individual. Can I take part?

For this edition of Freedom to Read, we are looking to collaborate only with organisations who work with and can distribute books to children.

We are a group of teachers. We want to build a digital library for our school. Can we participate?

Educators across the world have created mother tongue resources for children in languages like Kora, Santali, Cebuano-Cebu and Bahasa Indonesia. So we encourage more educators to participate!

How many members should I have in my team?

You can have as little as one to as many members in your team as you can rally together. The more the merrier!

 

WHY SHOULD I APPLY?

How is participating in this initiative different from simply using StoryWeaver to translate and publish books in my language?

Selected partners will benefit in a number of ways from being a part of the 'Freedom to Read 2020' campaign. First of all, quality-assured, reviewed translations published through this initiative will carry a 'Recommended' tag and will be promoted. Secondly, organisations taking part will be listed as partners on the StoryWeaver platform. They will have their own easy to access profile page (have a look at The Ugandan Christian University's profile page) and a dashboard for tracking their library’s progress. Most importantly, participants will also have access to mentoring in translation, editing, community mobilisation and documentation.

Will participation help me connect with others taking part to translate / create storybooks in the same language?

If we receive requests from more than one organisation to translate content to a particular language, then we will do our best to connect them so that they may work collaboratively towards creating the digital library.

Is this a contest? Is there prize money to be won?

This is not a contest, rather an invitation to collaborate with StoryWeaver to help create and share digital libraries in mother languages with few or no books. There is no prize money. However shortlisted teams will receive support and mentoring from StoryWeaver in not only creating the digital libraries but also the opportunity to publish their storybooks which will be featured prominently on the platform and reach a global audience. Participating in the 'Freedom to Read 2021' campaign will be beneficial to their work in areas such as documentation, community mobilisation etc.

Is there a participation fee?

No, there is not. Teams selected to collaborate with us will not have to pay any money towards the creation of the digital library.

 

WHAT RESOURCES WILL I NEED TO PARTICIPATE?

One or more language enthusiasts or educators excited about working on this project, a WiFi connection and a laptop or desktop computer are the main resources you need to start work!

 

DETAILS OF THE DIGITAL LIBRARIES WE ARE GOING TO BUILD

We are aiming to build digital libraries that comprise of storybooks in languages which have few or no children’s books. For each chosen mother tongue, you will create a library with at least 50 storybooks.

Why are you recommending the digital library have at least 50 books?

Imagine being able to borrow a brand new book every week for a whole year, in the language of your choice! By creating a digital library with at least 50 books, you're ensuring that children have new and exciting books to look forward to, and in their own mother tongue! Children can explore a range of topics and themes and progress through reading levels, ensuring their reading skills advance. Take a look at the digital libraries in French and Gondi on StoryWeaver for inspiration!

Why only digital libraries? How will digital libraries benefit my community?

Digital libraries are easy to share with many members, irrespective of their location and books can be added to them with ease. They can help preserve your language with books for future generations to read, enjoy and share and can improve access to good quality children's literature for your community. You will not only be able to access the library online, but also by downloading PDFs of the books, or through the Offline Library feature.

I don't have the infrastructure to build a digital library. Can participating help me with that?

All you need to begin building a digital book library in your chosen language is a team (it could even just be you!) of people who are skilled and enthusiastic about working towards this end goal. A WiFi connection and a laptop or desktop computer are the only digital tools you need to start work!

Who will review the quality of storybooks translated?

We recommend your team builds in a peer-to-peer review system while creating your digital book library. You might also like to assemble an expert panel who can review the translations and share feedback with your team before you publish the books. The goal is to create a reading level appropriate, quality-assured digital library of books in the language of your choice.

We shall provide you with best practices, resources and mentorship through the entire process of translating books for children.

Will my team have its own website? If not, where will this digital library exist?

All the digital libraries created through this effort will be published on StoryWeaver, and the books can be read, shared and downloaded for free. However, you are also free to download these books and add them to your own reading platform should you wish to do so. Selected organisations will have their own profile page which they can access and share. Take a look at CGnetSwara and The Asia Foundation's profile pages.

How can readers access the library?

StoryWeaver is a digital repository of openly licensed, multilingual books for children. Anyone can read, share and download the storybooks on our platform for free!

What resources will we require to run this digital library once it is ready?

There are a number of ways you can run your library once it's ready. You can share the link to your library with your community so that they can read the books online. If internet access is a concern, you can download the books via our Offline Library and access them whenever they like. You can also use the digital library of books to create a year-long reading programme for your community. Basically, you can use this library based on the resources available to you and potential members.

We would also like to have physical copies of books we translate in our digital library. Is this possible?

Once you have published the books, you can download them in a variety of formats, and print these books should you wish to. In the past organisations like the Konkani Bhasha Mandal and Suchana have obtained third party funding to print books translated on StoryWeaver and distribute them.

ABOUT FREE-TO-USE DIGITAL LIBRARIES

How does "free-to-use" work? What is CC BY 4.0?

All content on StoryWeaver is openly licensed under one of THE most liberal Creative Commons licenses: CC BY 4.0. That means that anyone and everyone can read, download, share or repurpose the content on the platform for free. Once your library is on StoryWeaver, anyone can read and download the books, translate them into another language, or remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

How will I/my team get credited for the books we translate?

We recommend that each member of your team create their own, individual accounts on StoryWeaver. This ensures that each member of the team is attributed for their contribution to the library. You might want to create an attribution page crediting your entire team on the last page of every book you translate, like the one in this book.

 

As an organisation with a team of translators, will the credit go to the organisation or individual team members?

Each translator will be attributed for contribution to the digital library. Organisations with participating teams will be featured on the platform as a translation partner, and will be able to access their digital library through a unique profile page.

Who other than my organisation and its members can access my digital library?

As the content comes under the CC BY 4.0 license, having a digital library on StoryWeaver means that your library will have a global audience, and your storybooks are free to read and download by anyone across the world.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

What kind of languages are you looking to create digital libraries in?

A UNESCO report on mother tongue literacy states, 'children should be taught in a language they understand, yet as much as 40% of the global population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand'.

Our aim for 'Freedom to Read' is to build quality-assured digital libraries in underserved languages.

StoryWeaver doesn't have my mother tongue listed. Can I still participate?

Yes! If selected, your mother tongue will be added to StoryWeaver, provided there is a Unicode compliant font for your language. Write to us at [email protected] and we will initiate adding your language to the platform.

Can we translate books into more than one language?

We want to help you build a quality-assured digital library in the language of your choice. If you and your team are adept at more than one language, then you may choose to create more than one digital library.

Does "building" a digital library mean that we will only be translating existing books into our mother tongue? Can we also write our own books?

'Freedom to Read 2021' is all about translating existing work and you get an opportunity to choose from thousands of different books, for various levels of reading. You can choose books based on your children's needs and topics that appeal to you. Unfortunately, you will not be able to write your own books within the scope of this campaign.

 

HELP WITH CONTENT SELECTION FOR YOUR LIBRARY

How do I know that the books I choose don't have an existing translation in my mother tongue?

Once you sign up on StoryWeaver, click on Translate, choose your language, and you will see the books that don’t have translations. Our content team can also assist you in curating a list of 50 books across themes and reading levels, as per your needs. The books encompass a gamut of reading levels and themes, including Early Readers, Bilinguals, STEM, as well as the Curated Reading Programme. With your help, we will be making much-needed children’s books available in more languages.

You can also click on Read and choose your language from the filter. This will show you all the books on the platform in your language.

What if the book I choose has an existing translation? Does my contribution still count?

Yes, it does!

Will we receive help from StoryWeaver in choosing books which can be used in classrooms/storytelling sessions?

You and your team have the freedom to choose your own books, but StoryWeaver will lend its expertise in book selection, if you need any help!

 

Application timelines and guidelines

• The last date for applications: March 7, 2021 

• Pratham Books reserves the final rights to select partners.

• Selected partners will sign a letter of understanding with Pratham Books.

• Only selected partners will be eligible for translation support and mentoring.

• Applications for building digital libraries in languages with few or no books will be given preference over those in mainstream languages or languages that already have a digital library of 100 storybooks on StoryWeaver.

• Applicants with basic digital infrastructure and language resources to create a local digital library will also be given preference.

• All content created and published by you / your organisation on StoryWeaver as part of the 'Freedom to Read 2020' campaign will by default be licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

APPLY NOW

If you have any further queries, write to us at [email protected].

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