The Story Festival: Building Intercultural Dialogue With Secondary Students Through the Art of Storytelling

This article examines the Story Festival, a narrative-focused arts education initiative in Brisbane, Australia, aimed at fostering intercultural dialogue and confidence among high school students. Drawing on interviews with three participants of refugee or migrant backgrounds, the research explores the transformative impact of collective storytelling on their sense of identity, confidence, and cultural expression. Findings highlight the Story Festival’s role in addressing gaps within Australia’s educational system, in which multicultural education often emphasizes content over dialogic engagement. The initiative provided a platform for participants to share their personal and cultural narratives, enabling meaningful connections and fostering mutual understanding among students from diverse backgrounds. Employing a narrative inquiry framework, this study underscores the potential of arts-based storytelling to bridge cultural divides, promote social cohesion, and empower young people to articulate and reshape their personal stories. Implications for integrating storytelling into educational practices and fostering systemic change are discussed.