Voice for Refuge Book Reading
Date/Time
Date(s) - 06/05/2023
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Location
Magers & Quinn Booksellers
Categories
Cost:
0.00 USD
Contact Person:
Email:
Website:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voice-for-refuge-book-reading-tickets-632929046817?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Phone:
Organization:
Green Card Voices
Minneapolis, MN
Join us for a reading with storyteller and global leader Zaynab Abdi in celebration of Voice for Refuge, about a Somali girl raised in Yemen by her grandmother finds refuge and opportunity with her mother in America. Told in English and Arabic, the story is beautifully illustrated as black ink drawings. She will be joined in conversation with Dana Mortenson, co-founder and CEO of of World Savvy, a national education nonprofit working to educate and engage youth as responsible global citizens.
“Abdi’s remarkable journey from Somalia to Yemen to Egypt and to the United State is essential
reading for anyone interested in the human face of multiple displacements. […]”
— Daniel Naujoks, Director, Columbia University and Author of “Migration, Citizenship, and
Development”, NY
ABOUT THE BOOK
Zaynab Abdi chronicles her journey from Somalia to Yemen and ultimately the United States, where she shares a stage with Malala and becomes a voice for refuge. Her graphic memoir is told in both English and Arabic.
Zaynab was born in Somalia and raised by her grandmother in Yemen, where they experienced a simple but beautiful life before unrest came to the country. Follow Zaynab as she flees to Egypt with her sister. Feel the love she is greeted with in America when she joins her mother and two sisters she has never met. Watch her grow as an advocate as she takes on the leadership opportunities within high school and university. Upon meeting Malala Yousafzai, and speaking at the United Nations, she becomes a voice for refuge.
“In America I found MY REFUGE, and my education. Now I use MY VOICE and speak out in order to promote more justice in the world.” – Zaynab Abdi
The stunning black ink drawings come from the pen of Egyptian born artist Ashraf El-Attar. Voice for Refuge will be a powerful addition to classrooms and school libraries, expanding their collections to include the voice of Black, Muslim, Middle Eastern immigrant girls and women.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Zaynab Abdi is a storyteller and emerging global leader. From her contribution to Green Card Voices, Minneapolis to a chapter in Malala’s We are Displaced, her story of perseverance and the pursuit of opportunities for others has inspired all who have encountered
her words. Zaynab has shared her experiences and insights about girls education as a Malala
Fund delegate addressing the United Nations General Assembly. She continues to work with the
United Nations Development Program as a Strategy and Futures Fellow, with Reviving
Sisterhood, a Muslim story telling, leadership development and civic engagement organization,
and with Green Card Voices as an Immigrant and Refugee Youth Ambassador.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER
Dana Mortenson is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of World Savvy, a national education nonprofit working to educate and engage youth as responsible global citizens. World Savvy supports change agents in K-12 education to create more inclusive, adaptive schools that ensure all young people can develop the skills and dispositions needed to thrive in a more diverse, interconnected world. World Savvy programs provide support at three critical levels to deeply integrate global competence into teaching, learning and culture: student engagement, teacher capacity, and school and district leadership support. Since 2002 she has led the organization through significant national expansion, reaching more 800,000 students and nearly 7,000 teachers across 45 US states and 32 countries, from offices based in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and New York.
Dana is an Ashoka Fellow and was named one of The New Leaders Council’s 40 under 40 Progressive American Leaders, and Women We Admire’s Top 50 Women Leaders of Minnesota for 2022. She was also a winner of the Tides Foundation’s Jane Bagley Lehman award for excellence in public advocacy in 2014. She is a frequent speaker on global education and social entrepreneurship at high-profile convenings nationally and internationally, and World Savvy’s work has been featured on PBS, The New York Times, Edutopia, and a range of local and national media outlets covering education and innovation.
