Motivating Multiliteracies: Comics and Games as Literacy Tools
PanelDennet, Etika Filashofia, Muhammad Jalaluddin Usman | Moderator: Adan Jimenez
Festival Pass| Festival Talk Pass
Children’s literacy today extends far beyond reading printed books—into the visual, spatial, digital, tactile, and interactive. This panel explores how stories told through comics, board games, and tabletop games can serve as powerful tools for learning, imagination, and identity formation, emphasising the vital role of narrative in helping children connect with knowledge, culture, and imagination in the worlds they create and live in.
worldbuildingstorytellingmultiplatform adaptation
Dennet (Singapore)
Dennet is the driving force behind TableMinis, spearheading everything from business development to brand creation with unmatched vision and determination. With his finger on the pulse of the gaming industry, Dennet leads TableMinis into uncharted territories, blending his business acumen with his passion for D&D and TTRPGs to create a gaming experience like no other. As a Dungeon Master, he weaves spellbinding tales that transport players to realms of wonder and adventure, embodying the spirit of tabletop gaming at its finest.
Etika Filashofia (Indonesia)
Etika Filashofia is a researcher and children’s author whose work explores the intersection of storytelling, literacy, and culture. She began her career as a freelance columnist before dedicating herself to writing for young readers. Her experience in journalism shapes her sensitivity to language, perspective, and narrative. Etika has written two children’s novels that celebrate imagination, empathy, and local wisdom. Beyond writing, she actively researches multiliteracies and visual narratives, focusing on how stories can nurture children’s understanding of themselves and the world around them.
Muhammad Jalaluddin Usman (Indonesia)
Muhammad Jalaluddin Usman is an illustrator and comic storyteller who actively develops creative media for children. Alongside his teaching activities, he designs educational games, ranging from digital RPGs to board games, aimed at fostering critical thinking and imagination in young learners. His work explores visual and narrative storytelling as tools for learning and cultural engagement. Through comics and games, he seeks to create meaningful literacy experiences that invite children to learn, imagine, and shape their own worlds.
Adan Jimenez (Singapore)
Adan Jimenez is a writer, translator, and prose, comics, and localization editor. He is best known as one half of AJ Low, the writing team behind the Sherlock Sam series of children’s mystery books. His comic Xocolatl: Language in an Alien Spacetime with artist Josephine Tan will be coming out in 2027. He is the proud child of Mexican immigrant parents and became an immigrant himself when he moved to Singapore. He loves comics, LEGO, books, games (analog and video), science fiction, and food. He plays and studies a lot of video games in his free time.
Programme dates and times are subject to change.