Here’s a post by Purvi Shah, Director – StoryWeaver, to mark a special time in StoryWeaver’s world: Our 4^th birthday

Say hello to Manisha, a young girl from the Mudia community that lives in Central India. The Mudia community speak Gondi, an indigenous language with 2 million speakers. Despite the large population, surprisingly, this is the first book Manisha has ever read in her own language! 

 

The world has made an ambitious commitment to the goal of universal literacy by 2030, where all children will be able to read. For this to be achieved, having high quality reading materials in languages that children use and understand is essential. But the global book gap means that millions of children like Manisha lack access to these critically needed reading resources. 

 

StoryWeaver was launched 4 years ago on International Literacy Day to address the inequities that exist for children’s books: not enough books, in not enough languages, and  very poor access. When we launched, our goal was  to create a participatory framework where content creators and users could collaborate with each other to create joyful reading material in multiple languages. We believe this will have a multiplier effect to address the scarcity of multilingual reading resources that exists in India and globally.

 

The book that Manisha was holding was created on StoryWeaver by a group of 20 educator volunteers who translated  300 books into Gondi, reviewed and published them on the platform in just a few days. The books were then printed locally and distributed in Manisha’s village as part of a community literacy programme.

Today, the platform hosts 15,500 books in over 200 languages of the world. This scale would not have been possible without the power of collaboration:

Publishers like Room to Read amd Pratham Books, who have open licensed their content at scale. Linguists and translators who have introduced us to new languages. Educators in every nook and corner of the world who have welcomed us into their classrooms and the hearts of their students. 

With millions of users from over 150 countries, StoryWeaver is harnessing the power of open licences, collaboration, and technology to create a societal platform that is providing open access to thousands of  books in local languages to nurture the next generation of readers and learners. 

None of this would  have been possible without your support. Thank you. Times 4!

 

 

(We would love for you to join the conversation by leaving your thoughts in the Comments section, or on social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)

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It is undeniable that wildlife plays an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of nature. Disruptions to the wilderness can negatively impact the ecosystem as a whole. Preserving the natural environment is therefore vital.

We have rounded up some of our favourite books highlighting wildlife. Check out the excerpts and click on the image to read the books.

 

‘Flippy the Flowerpecker’  is a level 1 book written and photographed by Garima Bhatia.

In this book, Flippy the tiny flowerpecker visits a eucalyptus tree to find a meal, but a surprise is in store for her!

 

‘Our Friends in the Wild’ is a level 2 book written by Ananta Prasad Wagle, illustrated by Samit Shrestha, and translated by Shannon David.

Throughout time, people have shared a strong relationship with animals in nature. This non-fiction poem explores the many ways that animals help humans.

 

‘Tiger, Tiger, Where Are You?’ is a level 2 book written by Mujahid Khan and illustrated by Manjari Chakravarti.

In the book, a tiger researcher is out looking for tiger hair and poop as part of his study. He finds plenty of signs of the tiger, but where is the big cat? After all, there are so many ways to see a tiger without seeing a tiger.

 

'The great Rifasa' is a level 3 book written by Rohini Nilekani and illustrated by Sangeetha Kadur.

Nothing seemed right in the Kabini forest — the monsoon hadn’t come and the human tourists in their safari jeeps seemed to have disappeared as well. The animals of Kabini get together to begin their own safari. A fun story, from a unique perspective, about the far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

‘How to Be an Otter’ is a level 3 book written by Nisarg Prakash and illustrated by Rohit Kelkar.

Listen in to find out more about these wonderful river creatures, as an otter passes on wisdom to a group of otter pups. 

 

A level 3 book, ‘Fly Safe, Godavan’ is written by Cara Tejpal and illustrated by Sanjana Desai.

In this book, Rania is determined to keep the little Godavan chick and her Ma safe. But there are so many threats to the survival of the Great Indian Bustard.

 

‘Kanchha, the Rhino’ is a level 3 book written by Shilpi Pradhan, illustrated by Abin Shrestha, and translated by Shannon David

This is the story of a little rhino who lives in a big grassland. He loves to explore, but one day he strays too far from his mother and gets lost. Read on to find out how he gets out of trouble.

 

‘Turtle Story’ is a level 4 book written by Kartik Shanker and illustrated by Maya Ramaswamy.

Under cover of darkness, baby olive ridley turtles hatch from sun-warmed eggs on remote beaches. One of them, the little hatchling who is the narrator of our story, is delighted to make it across the beach and into the ocean without losing her way or being captured by predators. But can our little olive ridley survive the dangers of the ocean? Find out in this charming life story of an olive ridley turtle, and meet several other interesting creatures along the way.

 

‘Moonlight in the Sea’ is a level 4 story written by Kartik Shanker and illustrated by Prabha Mallya.

Fatima grows up on an idyllic island in the Lakshadweep, watched over by Nihla, the moon. She falls in love with the underwater world of colourful corals, fascinating fish, mysterious manta rays, grizzled old turtles and dancing dolphins. One day, in a terrible storm, she gets lost at sea. Join Fatima on her incredible adventure on remote islands with wonderful marine creatures.

Learn more about the people and places that inspired the making of 'Moonlight in the Sea', in this blog post by Kartik Shanker, author, ecologist, and founder trustee of the Dakshin Foundation.

 

A level 4 story, ‘Wildlife in a City Pond’ is written by Ashish Kothari and illustrated by Sangeetha Kadur.

Wetlands in any city are seen mostly as wasteland, waiting to be built over. It takes a tireless environmentalist to show us what city ponds really are – magically rich ecosystems worth preserving. Based on a real-life experience, here is a story that introduces us to the delightful fauna and flora in the urban landscape.

 

‘Gyalmo, the Queen of the Mountains’  is a  level 4 book written by Ranjini Murali and illustrated by Komal Jain. 

Koyna is in Spiti Valley trying to spot a snow leopard with her friend Lobzang. Gyalmo, the snow leopard, watches from a distance as they try their best to spot her.

Read all about the author’s fascination with the mountains and why she wrote a children's book about snow leopards here. Ranjini Murali, the author, is the Conservation Scientist at the Snow Leopard Trust.

 

Come, explore the natural quirks and intricacies of nature and its wild inhabitants with StoryWeaver!

 

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This position is now closed

Pratham Books (www.prathambooks.org) is a not-for-profit children's book publisher that was set up in 2004 to publish good quality, affordable books in many Indian languages. Our mission is to see ‘a book in every child’s hand’ and we have spread the joy of reading to millions of children in India. As a publisher serving every child in India, Pratham Books has always pushed the boundaries when it comes to exploring innovative ways in which to create access to joyful stories and have been fortunate in finding partners to collaborate with who share this vision.

In 2015, Pratham Books' increased its footprint by going digital. As an industry leader, we were one of the first publishers in the country to open license our content. All this content is now available on StoryWeaver, which is a digital platform that hosts stories in languages from India and beyond, so that every child can have an endless stream of stories in her mother tongue to read and enjoy. The stories can be read, translated, versioned or downloaded for free. All stories on the platform are openly licensed.

We are looking for a Social Media Manager for Storyweaver

The role involves ddeveloping and implementing strategic engagement initiatives by building and sustaining relationships with multiple stakeholders, and advocating the brand across a variety of social networks

(Postmen in the midst of piles of letters,  Illustration by Bindia Thapar from 'City of Stories' by Rukmini Banerji)

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for all social media for StoryWeaver handles.
• Incorporating online tools and networking to create relationships and ultimately build the company’s brand, both online and off.
• Distributing the brand’s content across a variety of different social networks.
• Identifying and building lasting relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders from non-profits, community groups, authors, illustrators, publishers, children, parents, etc.
• Using Analytics and other measurement tools to provide reports on metrics, and continually find ways to improve on those metrics through testing and new initiatives.

Required skills

• 2-3 years of experience in social media management.
• Familiar with latest technology, trends and analytics in Social Media.

Nice to have but not mandatory:

• Previous experience in Sales/ Marketing/ Public Relations

Location: 

This is a full-time position and is based out of Bangalore

Compensation: 

Salary will be commensurate with qualification and experience.

Write to us:

Email your resume with Social Media Manager-StoryWeaver in the subject line to [email protected]

 

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