Virtual Postcard: Storytellers’ Community Breakfast at the Skoll World Forum

In April 2023, the Skoll World Forum reconvened for its 20th anniversary and the largest forum to date: nearly 2,000 people from every region participated. Founding Director Cara Mertes, Latin America Lead Graciela Selaimen and Narrative Lead Brett Davidson represented IRIS.

I am interested in what happens after the dust settles.

—Filmmaker Margaret Brown, Descendant

You have your audience. My audience is all the people that came before and the people coming next.

—Dr. Kern Jackson

For the IRIS team, the first Storytellers’ Community Breakfast, which IRIS co-hosted with the Skoll Foundation, was one of many highlights of the week. We gathered over 100 story stakeholders—our virtual postcard below captures the impressive range and diversity of participants—from across the Forum.

U.S. folklore and narrative specialist Dr. Kern Jackson and Descendant film director Margaret Brown, invited by our friends at Participant Media, screened their award-winning film. Their presentation sparked deeply-felt conversation about story, generational representation, moral courage and the power of human imagination.