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Speaking in the Sky and Answering the Great Challenges of Our Times!

September 25, 2023

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Inspired by “doxa,” Greek for “conviction,” the Prague-based DOX Centre for Contemporary Art invited artists across disciplines to its first-ever DOX – FALL: Festival of Arts, Literature and Learning. The theme? “Finding Empathy In Digital Times.”  

Narrative 4 raised the event to new heights. Literally. We hosted story exchanges and group discussions, while our president Colum McCann spoke about peace and reconciliation from the wildest venue ever – a zeppelin in the sky!

The theme for DOX – FALL was “Finding Empathy In Digital Times.”  It is indeed one of the greatest challenges of our times. We took that challenge to heart, showing attendees how to put away their phones and stand up for compassion.

Students took part in a Narrative 4 Story Exchange as Narrative 4 Ireland’s Rachel Gleeson and Laura Duff spoke with educators eager to learn more about our life-changing work. 

Narrative 4 President Colum McCann moderated a school group discussion with Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, and Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, who both lost daughters to the conflict in the Middle East. Their powerful story, which inspired McCann’s novel, Apeirogon, opened up the hearts and minds of all the participants. McCann also discussed the launch of the Czech edition of the book onboard the Gulliver Airship. 

“What a way to discuss peace and reconciliation – in an airship over Prague!” said Colum. “This is one of the most spectacular museums in the world.  And it was amazing to be reunited with Rami and Bassam. We haven’t seen each other since the pandemic.”

Of the festival, Rachel Gleeson, N4 Ireland Program Manager, noted, “We were delighted to get the opportunity to share stories with the young people as part of the DOX Fall Festival. They heard Rami and Bassam telling their inspirational stories ahead of the exchanges, and the experience allowed the students to witness how powerful sharing our stories can be.”

…the experience allowed the students to witness how powerful sharing our stories can be.

– Rachel Gleeson, N4 Ireland Program Manager 

In addition to speaking in the sky, Narrative 4 has been making an impact on the ground in the Czech Republic. Colum, Laura and Rachel were delighted to be invited as guests among some of the world’s great academics and artists, including: Matteo Pericoli, Radka Bodzewicz, Morten Kringleboch, and Stefano Carini.  

Speaking in the sky gave us the perfect vantage point on the world below, and the shared humanity that unites us all.