Storytelling and Diplomacy

Vice President Al Gore was a special guest of the National Storytelling Festival in 1995, where he helped launch the fundraising effort that would build the organization’s downtown campus. Christening Jonesborough “the epicenter of American storytelling” in a speech he gave on the grounds of the Festival, he talked about his experience using personal stories as a peace-building tool in international relations. The Vice President enjoyed his time in Jonesborough so much that he invited ISC and a delegation of storytellers to his home in Washington, D.C. to recreate a miniature storytelling festival—replete with tents!—for a diplomatic event.