The 27th International Storytelling Festival concluded with a lively ceremony in Isfahan, where this year’s winners proudly received their awards. The festival highlighted storytelling’s key role in shaping children’s minds, values, and creativity. A total of 61 storytellers competed across nine categories: Classic, With Tools, Sacrifice and Heroes, Religious, Sign Language, Poetic, New Stories, Ritual-Traditional, and Previous Year’s Selected.
Consequently, the jury selected those who best combined creativity, cultural relevance, and the ability to deliver meaningful messages. In the Religious category, Forouzan Hosseini from Kermanshah won for Goodbye Naneh Rasouleh. Meanwhile, Sogol Baqeri from Alborz claimed the New Stories prize with Bon Appétit Naneh. Similarly, Sogand Mirzai, also from Kermanshah, earned the Sacrifice and Resistance award for Zhivar. In addition, Ali Mehdi from Khuzestan took the Ritual-Traditional category, and Mojgan Kadkhodai from Isfahan secured the Classic award.
Other winners included Leila Ebrahimi in Storytelling Promoters, Parnia Rezai in Poetic, and Masoumeh Pour Emam Ali in Sign Language. Moreover, in the non-attendance categories, Mohammad Sepahvand received the 90-Second Story prize, while Zahra Ettehadi earned the Podcast award. During the ceremony, the festival director stressed that storytelling serves as a core educational tool rather than a decorative element. He explained, “A story without conflict cannot teach; without choice, faith cannot develop.” He added that the festival reflects decades of effort to revive storytelling as a living cultural tradition.
Furthermore, the Education Minister delivered a video message emphasizing the need to integrate storytelling into students’ daily lives. He described Iran’s story as one “that will be remembered for centuries” and praised the festival for keeping the innocence of childhood alive. The closing ceremony also featured cultural performances and tributes. Attendees enjoyed Quranic tales, dramatizations of Prophet Yunus, tributes to renowned writers, and narratives from children of war martyrs. Overall, the event demonstrated storytelling’s enduring power to educate, inspire, and connect generations, reaffirming its vital role in nurturing young minds.