From the Magic Pencil: Voices of Writing Through

In this episode, our former interns Rachel Wachman and Eva Phelps interview Sue, Writing Through’s CEO and Executive Director. On this, our 10th Anniversary, she takes time to reflect on the experiences, revelations, and hopes that have led her to grow the organization to what it is now. Sue tells us about the desire to help that has followed her from childhood to the present, and her use of writing as a tool to help herself and others navigate tragedies and difficult histories. She discusses Writing Through’s recent expansion into countries like the US, and how collaborative, creative thinking is needed more than ever. We hope you enjoy getting to know Sue and Writing Through in the final episode of the season!

If you would like to get involved and volunteer or train as a facilitator, please get in touch at [email protected] and/or to make a donation to help our work please click the link. - Donate Now 

In this episode, Kristin speaks with Mr Lux, the Executive Director of PEPY Empowering Youth: an organization that runs personal and professional development programs for students in Siem Reap and one of Writing Through’s partners. With Kristin, he discusses the importance of creativity to today’s youth and how to best foster it, his journey as a businessman-turned-photographer and social worker, and the similarities in his creative process while taking photographs and leading PEPY. Other topics they talk about include knowing when a creative work is finished and appreciation for the arts in Cambodia.

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to learn more about PEPY, you can check out Season 1 Episode 12 for Kristin’s interview with Kim Ann Khlang, also from the organization!

https://www.pepyempoweringyouth.org/

Pepyempoweringyouth

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Pepy-empowering-youth

This week’s episode features Christie Pink, a freelance graphic designer based in Cambodia and the founder of Creation Haus, an organization that offers graphic design services, classes, and workshops worldwide. Kristin invited Christie to the podcast after attending her stellar presentation on the importance of creativity, and together they discuss the importance of playfulness, curiosity, and letting the mind wander. You’ll also hear them talk about the effect of physical space on creative thinking, the joy of teaching children to think creatively through design and poetry, and the drawbacks of the increasing access to technology. 

Creation HausCreation Haus https://www.creationhaus.com

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Carlos Andrés Gómez: Official Websitecarloslive.comhttps://carloslive.com

Carlos Andrés Gómez (@carlosaglive)Instagram · carlosaglive7.1K+ followers

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In this week’s episode, Kristin sits down with Andrea McKenna Brankin, a multitalented writer-journalist and long-time Writing Through facilitator based in Singapore. As someone who has always expressed herself creatively through words, fashion, and tattoos, Andrea now works to teach students to do the same, be it in poetry workshops, rugby matches, or yoga sessions. They discuss the difference in rigid and creative teaching styles and their effect on students’ learning, writing about her experiences with bipolar disorder and the destigmatization of mental health, and dealing with imposter syndrome.

To buy Andrea’s Book please click this link -  https://www.amazon.com/stores/Andrea-McKenna-Brankin/author/B08KXR16LJ?ref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

In this episode, Sue speaks to Eugénie Munakarmi, the COO of Enfants du Mekong (Children of the Mekong), an incredible French organization established back in 1958, that helps children all over South-East Asia. EdM was one of our first partners, so Sue and Eugénie have been friends a long time. This is the first time we have had someone on the podcast who didn’t consider themselves a particularly creative person, and so the discussion around why Sue wanted to speak to her and how she views her as a very innovative and inventive person is particularly interesting. In their conversation, they talk about how vital it is for an NGO to pivot and adapt to changing times, how important bravery is when tackling problems, and comparing the educational systems in France, the United States and Cambodia. 

www.childrenofthemekong.org 

In this week’s episode, Sue interviews  Lucia Orellana, an Ecuadorian social and clinical psychologist-turned-poet and one of Writing Through’s long-term volunteers. They discuss how living in different cultures, places, and languages can change you, the differences between writing poetry in English and Spanish, and the challenges one may face when translating between both languages. Lucia explains how she rediscovered her first joy of writing later in life and the interesting ways in which she deals with her inner critic. It’s a fascinating and inspiring chat! 

In this week’s episode, Sue is joined by her friend, Dr Lisa Wong, a pediatrician, musician, teacher and musical education advocate. She explains the fascinating links between how and why playing music makes someone a better physician and how the skills that children learn playing instruments can later be applied to the study and practice of medicine. They also discuss the power of giving people of all ages permission to be curious, creative and experimental and how physicians in America have begun trying alternative treatments, prescribing walking around an art museum or forest or learning an instrument. Dr Wong is leading an incredibly impressive and interesting life. We hope that you enjoy the conversation. 

In this episode, Sue interviews one of the members of Writing Through’s fantastic Board of Directors, Votey Cheav. They get into a wide array of topics during their conversation. Votey really has had a fascinating life; she shares her experience as a Cambodian American and a child of refugees, her personal relationship with poetry, creativity and her great love of learning. She explains how she applies her creativity in so many ways, from her business practices, to her efforts to better understand what her parents went through during the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime. They both share their thoughts on AI and how they foresee it affecting people’s artistry moving forward. 

In this episode, Sue interviews Writing Through’s former Deputy Director, Jess Blackledge, who now lives in Edinburgh and works as a Learning Officer for the world-famous Fringe Festival. They discuss her wide-ranging career, which has the common thread of  inspiring young people to cultivate their creativity. She also talks about how her life-long love affair with the theater has led her to believe in the vital importance of an arts education and how the arts should be accessible to everyone. 

www.edfringe.com

If you enjoy this episode, remember Sue interviewed Jess in Season 1 in Episodes 2 and 3. Please go and give them a listen.