TEHRAN – Iranian children Raha Taheri and Nura Mohkamkar have won awards at the World Storytelling Championship in Chennai, India.

The final session of the event, which was organized online in 2020 and also this year, was held on Sunday and Monday. 

Taheri was selected as World Champion in the Senior Category 1 for children between 13 and 15.

In the semifinal, she gave her performance narrating “On Simorgh’s Wings” written by Paizeh Taheri and in the final, she narrated “Size of the World” written by Shokuh Qasemnia.

“Size of the World” is about Sara, a little girl who is offended by her mother’s words. She embarks on a journey with a big bird to discover how large the world is.

Raha Taheri also won an award in the 90-Second Story Competition of the 23rd edition of Iran’s International Storytelling Festival organized two weeks ago by the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA - Kanoon), where she has been trained.      

Mohkamkar was selected as 1st runner-up in the Junior Category 3 for children between 8 and 12.

She performed “First Adventure of the Shahnameh” from Persian poet Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece the Shahnameh in the semifinal.

In final, Mohkamkar presented “The Word Collector” written by the world-renowned writer and illustrator, Sonja Wimmer.

A poetic tale about the magic of words, this delightful story invites readers of all ages to enjoy the power that positive words can have.

The story is about Luna, who is passionate about words. She loves their light and becomes tickled with laughter from them. But one day, she realizes that, little by little, the beautiful, gorgeous and fun words are disappearing from the world, so she decides it’s time to act.

Iranian boy Mohammad-Amin Yusefi was one of the finalists in the Junior Category 3, but he failed to win an award. Vaidehi Parikh from Nigeria was named World Champion in this section. 

In the Junior I category for children between 3 and 4, Aiden Jithin from India was picked as World Champion, while Liam Tae Min Eom from South Korea won the title in the Junior II category for children aged between 5 and 7.

The prize for the World Champion in the Senior II section for children aged between 16 and 18 went to Mishaal Manoj KC from India, and the World Champion in the Open Category for people aged 19 and above was Chen Minghsiang from Taiwan.

Photo: Iranian children Raha Taheri and Nura Mohkamkar won awards at the World Storytelling Championship in Chennai, India.

MMS/YAW