DIA: Diversity In Action

A Columbia Event Celebrating Diversity, Literacy, and Bilingualism:

April 24th from 1-4pm at Keenan House in Columbia, SC.The Division of Modern Languages and Literatures of Columbia College, in collaboration with L.E.E.R. Family Outreach and the Palmetto Luna Association invite you to attend or participate in a celebration of diversity, literacy and bilingualism.

History of the event:

Día del niño is a holiday commonly celebrated in Mexico on April 30th. Acclaimed children’s author, Pat Mora fell in love with this idea in the mid nineties, and decided to link this holiday with literacy and promoted its celebration in the U.S. It is intended to note the importance of children and literacy in society and is aligned with the global holiday Children’s Day.

The Event:

In celebration of Día de los niños/Día de los libros, our event is called DIA, which stands for Diversity In Action. We will be celebrating the theme, “Casa de Cuentos.” The event is geared toward the families of elementary students and young children of all backgrounds, and it will involve bilingual storytelling in English and Spanish, dancing, music, food and crafts from many different cultures. We encourage you and your students to attend or participate in the event. Our focus is the Latino community, but we’d like to include everyone in the hopes of encouraging bilingualism, reading and education both within the Latino community, and the community at large.

For more information on the event or if you would like to participate, contact Shelley Whipple at shelley.whipple@columbiasc.edu

image via Pat Mora