Mirror Mirror on the Wall: What Stories Shape Us Most Of All
PresentationDuriya Aziz | Moderator: Loh Chin Ee
Festival Pass| Festival Talk Pass
Stories do more than entertain—they shape the worlds young readers learn to see, question, and ultimately create.
In this keynote from the Reading Forum, Duriya Aziz explores how children’s books, both print and digital, ignite imagination and build empathy at a time when reading preferences and habits are rapidly evolving. Drawing on insights from research data, she examines how humour, adventure and reader choice drive engagement across cultures, and how comics and graphic novels are transforming the reading landscape for diverse and reluctant readers.
This session highlights the critical role of families, schools and communities in nurturing lifelong reading, the importance of balancing paper and pixels, and the need to bring literature back into the heart of learning. As creators and educators, we hold the power—and responsibility—to shape the worlds children will inherit.
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Duriya Aziz (Singapore)
Duriya Aziz is President, International Education at Scholastic Inc., leading the company’s global education strategy with a focus on literacy and maths, learning ecosystems, and large-scale partnerships that improve reading and maths outcomes for millions of children. A champion of accessible, culturally relevant content, she has spent over 30 years in education publishing, shaping curriculum reform and driving innovation across print, digital, and AI-enabled learning. Duriya speaks frequently on global literacy and numeracy, reading behaviour and the future of children’s content, and is deeply committed to empowering young readers to discover the joy of reading and the worlds they can imagine - and build.
Loh Chin Ee (Singapore)
Loh Chin Ee is Associate Professor at the English Language and Literature Department and Associate Dean (Impact & Partnerships) at the Office for Research at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. Her research focuses on reading at the intersection of equity, technology and globalisation.
She is the co-editor of Little Things: an Anthology of Poetry (Ethos, 2013) & Poetry Moves (Ethos, 2020). Her most recent edited book is The Reading Lives of Teens: Research and Practice (Routledge, 2025). You can read more about her work on www.lohchinee.com.
Programme dates and times are subject to change.