Why should we care about arts, culture, and literature in the face of the global challenges characterizing the present moment? How can a story help combat climate change, or a poem ensure peaceful, ethical international relations? This event makes the case for the importance of stories, narrative, and literature in confronting global challenges, exploring the multiple and varied ways in which they can help to shape better global futures. Agenda: 3 x 15 minute talks by: Qaisra Shahraz ‘Celebrating Diversity: Building Cultural Bridges through Literature’ Qaisra Shahraz is on an ardent mission to promote better relationships amongst people of different faiths and of none and to celebrate diversity. She says, ‘Living in the age of Trump; difficult times, as a Muslim woman I find myself sandwiched between two monsters; Islamophobia on one side and extremism on the other (ISIS)’. She will discuss how she uses her stories and peace banners, ‘We Stand Together’ and ‘Spread Hummus Not Hate’ to build cultural bridges, hold intercultural dialogue, and promote unity. In particular Qaisra is keen to challenge hatred, stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Qaisra will read from her latest book The Concubine & The Slave Catcher. She will discuss how she urges her German and English readers to read and appreciate her story A Pair of Jeans by getting out of their ‘western’ box, and to look beyond their own cultural norms. Graham Mort ‘Many Women, Many Words’ Graham Mort discusses how a project to recoup the stories of Kurdish women who had lived through the Al Anfal genocide against the Kurdish people engaged with memory, narrative and displaced futures, whilst using poetry as a means of communicating research data through performance. Emily Spiers ‘Creative Futures: Methods for Facing Global Challenges’ If we use stories to understand the world around us, how can creative practices like storytelling be useful in finding, developing, and implementing solutions to the kinds of global challenges discussed at the Global Futures seminar series?