The roots of the WeaveTales were founded when Seyeon Hwang, then a graduate student, and Basma Alawee, a refugee-turned-activist, met in Jacksonville, Florida, to work on a storytelling project in 2018. They found a common ground on the need for a nonprofit organization that specialized in storytelling for refugees and co-founded WeaveTales in 2019.

Our Journey Through the Years

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2019: In the year WeaveTales was founded, we had a book titled ‘Refugee Women in America’ published with the help of the Institute for Global Engagement’s Center for Women, Faith, and Leadership and Islamic Relief USA.

2020: As the world got hit with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, we started two online series: ‘Coping with Covid-19: Global Conversations’ and ‘Hearty Tables.’ We launched ‘Forward Together’ a project aimed at making Florida a more inclusive space and we had our very first cohort of the New American Speakers Program. At the end of the year, we held a Weave-Tales annual Exhibit and Launching Party in Jacksonville.

2021: This year began with our first ‘Journey to Jacksonville Exhibit’ at the ARTSee & Shop Gallery. We also launched our Speaker Referral Program and hosted a ‘Refugees Career Panel’ alongside the Refugees Storyteller’s Collective. Later in the year, the ‘Journey to Jacksonville Exhibit’ was shown at both the University of North Florida and The Florida State College at Jackson- ville’s Downtown Gallery.

2022: We showed the ‘Journey to Jacksonville Exhibit’ to three different locations (Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Deerwood Campus, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, and the Museum of Science and History), before we expanded it and re-named it the ‘Journey to Florida Exhibit,’ which was shown at Downtown Jax Art Walk. This year was also huge for our founder, Basma Alawee as she became a Hello Neighbor 2022 fellow and gave a talk at TEDx Jacksonville’s Annual Conference.

Today: 2023 began with our Journey to Jacksonville exhibit being shown at the Jessie Ball Dupont Center and we’re currently getting ready for the 4th cohort of the New American Speakers program. To never miss out on our upcoming events and projects, sign up for our newsletter below!

First known for our specialization in amplifying the voices and contributions of refugees and immigrants, WeaveTales evolved to be a source of change agency and leadership development in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB). Through our work and strategic partnerships, WeaveTales responds with creativity and innovation to knowledge gaps and holistic needs of communities and organizations. 

Support Our Future

With our large and diversified bank of knowledge, contributions, and impact, WeaveTales is recognized as a leading authority regarding refugee and immigrant Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Invitations and direct requests from community leaders and organizations for WeaveTales to be part of necessary solutions continue to grow.

Questions?

Contact us at: contact@weavetales.org