The public launch of Storybooks Canada, preceded by a pre-launch symposium, “Our Multilingual Village: Supporting Refugee Children and Families” took place at UBC on November 2, 2018. The event was co-organized by Dr. Janet Jamieson (ECPS), Director of the Centre for Early Childhood Education and Research, and Dr. Bonny Norton (LLED), the Research Lead of Storybooks Canada. The invited symposium included representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Children and Family Development, local school boards, and community organizations. Storybooks Canada is a free digital platform that can be used by families and educators to promote multilingualism.
The user-friendly resource has repurposed 40 stories from the African Storybook in 18 of the most commonly spoken languages in Canada, including English and French. The stories are beautifully illustrated, available in print and audio, and can be downloaded in multiple formats. The launch of Storybooks Canada was opened by the VP Research and Innovation, Dr. Gail Murphy, and over 100 members of the public enjoyed presentations from the Storybooks Canada team. Now available on YouTube, PhD candidate Liam Doherty made a strong case for open educational resources.
The event was sponsored by the UBC Language Sciences and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies.
