International Story Swap Project Connects High School Students in Haiti and New Orleans

Press Invited to Attend In Person

ASPEN, Colo., April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by Aspen Writers' Foundation:

What: High school students in Port-au-Prince and New Orleans will share personal stories of family, landscape, and cultural and emotional differences via live videoconferencing as part of this modern-day pen pal project. Through the use of storytelling, creative writing, and the visual arts, this cross-cultural exchange is designed to help strengthen and, in this case, restore individuals, schools, and communities.

Press interested in attending the "Story Swap" in person, either in New Orleans or Port-au-Prince, or a "Crawfish Boil" and community celebration in New Orleans after the "swap," should contact Nicole Hernandez, [email protected] or (970) 948-5494 (cell).

The Aspen Institute will post a video of the program following the event at www.aspeninstitute.org.

A full press release with additional details on the event can be found at http://www.aspeninstitute.org/news/2010/04/13/first-international-story-swap-connect-students-new-orleans-port-au-prince.

When:

• Story Swap – Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 10:30 am EDT / 9:30 am CDT
• "Crawfish Boil" and community celebration – Friday, April 23, 2010 @ 1:00 pm EDT / 12:00 pm CDT (New Orleans, LA only)

Where:

• Story Swap in New Orleans – Sci Academy students at Ben Franklin High School (New Orleans, LA)
• "Crawfish Boil" and community celebration – Sci Academy (New Orleans, LA)

Contacts: Lisa Consiglio, Executive Director, Aspen Writers' Foundation, [email protected], (970) 688-0333 (cell); Shannon Gallagher (215) 350-3720

• Cours Prive Edme (Port-au-Prince, Haiti)

Contact: Natalie Lacy, Programs Manager, Aspen Writers' Foundation, (651) 270-4402 (cell)

Who: The Aspen Writers' Foundation (a program of the Aspen Institute), in collaboration with the Global Nomads Group and Students Rebuild, with support from the Bezos Family Foundation.

The Aspen Writers' Foundation, Colorado's oldest nonprofit literary organization and a program of the Aspen Institute, has been bringing readers and writers together since 1976. The organization's mission is to provide programs that encourage writers in their craft and readers in their appreciation of literature. Through its repertoire of ten year-round programs and projects, the Aspen Writers' Foundation annually serves 100,000-plus literary enthusiasts of all ages.

The Bezos Family Foundation is a private, independent foundation established by Jackie and Mike Bezos, who along with their children and spouses, serve as directors. The Foundation works to strengthen educational opportunities for everyone, regardless of economic circumstances, and cultivate learning as a life-long process that begins in early childhood.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners.

SOURCE The Aspen Writers' Foundation