Request a Guest Speaker

Request a presentation from founder, Sophie Danielson, to learn more about the Rohingya diaspora, Books Unbound’s work, and the importance of travel & gap years.

Introduction


Casually popular in Myanmar. Here’s the proof:  Celebrity Video. 

Aside from viral music videos, here’s a bit more about Sophie:

Founder and Managing Director of Books Unbound, a social enterprise providing informal, community-driven education solutions for refugee communities. Specializes in curriculum development and content creation, with expertise in cross-cultural communication and a focus on marginalized populations.

Extensive experience traveling and researching the Rohingya refugee crisis across 6 countries / 19 cities to document and understand the Rohingya diaspora. Lived and worked in Thailand and Bangladesh, building out education-related projects for Burmese migrants & Rohingya refugees. Traveled & worked in places such as Myanmar, Malaysia, Ecuador, Spain, Colombia, Nepal, Greece, among others.

An advocate for female entrepreneurs and huge proponent for gap years and alternative education for post-high school students. Experienced female solo traveler across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Sophie Danielson
Stories of Rohingya

Featured Topics

The Rohingya Diaspora
How Books Unbound Began
Contextualized learning
Rohingya Reunions
The Rohingya Diaspora

Who are the Rohingya? What’s their story? Elaboration on the history, personal connections, stories of families, in-field reporting of the situation in the refugee camps. A personal and highly informal presentation from 7 years of in-field research.

How Books Unbound Began

What’s the story behind Books Unbound? How did it start with the Rohingya people? Highlighting upon personal experiences as a female entrepreneur starting and managing Books Unbound.

Contextualized learning

Why education through cartoonization? Sharing about the development of contextualized, informal learning in marginalized communities. 

Rohingya Reunions

An exclusive storytelling presentation to share about the long-term project, Rohingya Reunions.

Past Speaking Events

  • Air Academy High School, CO
  • Calvary Murrieta, CA
  • Global U, GA
  • International School of Monterrey, Mexico
  • Living Hope Covenant Church, CO
  • Longfellow Elementary School, WI
  • Reidenbaugh Elementary, PA
  • The Commons, New Life Downtown, CO
  • UCLA, CA
  • UNICEF club, Scarsdale, NY
  • University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Yucaipa High School, CA

Testimonials

``Ms. Danielson shares her personal narrative and journey in a manner that resonates with a diverse group of people from various ages and backgrounds...
``Inspirational and practical! Sophie shares how her journey intersected with a remarkable and resilient people, refugees whose losses are more than most of us could ever imagine...
“Her story made me feel inspired to step outside of my comfort zone, and to try and go places that are completely different than what I am used to...
``First off, I would like to say I absolutely loved Sophie Danielson’s talk and content! I am so glad that she was one of our guest speaker’s this semester...
``One big take away that I will keep with me was that Sophie took a huge risk that ended up shaping her life into what it is today...
``A personal takeaway from Sophie’s talk was in regard to the artists she hires from around the world...
“Concerning Sophie, I have immeasurable respect for her and what she's done...
“What I believe makes her work different is...
``Ms. Danielson shares her personal narrative and journey in a manner that resonates with a diverse group of people from various ages and backgrounds...
She is someone that you want to have come and speak as she inspirational, kind, worldly, energetic, smart, mature, and wise. Her expertise includes community building among artists internationally, culturally responsive teaching materials, migration and refugee issues, and finding your passion and place in the world.​”
Dr. Mandy Hansen | Director, International Affairs at UCCS
``Inspirational and practical! Sophie shares how her journey intersected with a remarkable and resilient people, refugees whose losses are more than most of us could ever imagine...
This connection presented a need, which Sophie met with creativity and a willingness to say “yes”. That “yes” sparked not only a ground swell movement of artists, linguists, educators, and anthropologists working together to put contextualized educational materials in the hands of refugee children, but also a movement of reuniting globally dispersed refugee families. Sophie’s presentation, her story of connection, leaves audiences with an ignited hope, inspired to move toward others with empathy and courage.​”
Cathryn Supplee | Lecturer, Department of Communication at UCCS
“Her story made me feel inspired to step outside of my comfort zone, and to try and go places that are completely different than what I am used to...
 …I feel that when I travel, I play it safe, and stick to what I’m comfortable with, and because of that, I’m missing some wonderful opportunities. Sophie is a young woman from Colorado, who went to the same high school I did, and she has created something great that helps others. This inspires me to feel that I am capable of this too, even though sometimes I feel like just one person in a huge world.”
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS
``First off, I would like to say I absolutely loved Sophie Danielson’s talk and content! I am so glad that she was one of our guest speaker’s this semester...
…because she inspired me to take part in her work and do my part in helping the Rohingya people. I had many personal takeaways from Sophie’s talk, but the main one I had is wanting to do my part in helping people like the Rohingya with the privilege I have….I am grateful for this experience in class, thank you!”​
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS
``One big take away that I will keep with me was that Sophie took a huge risk that ended up shaping her life into what it is today...
As a young woman, it is often hard to visualize going to another country by yourself to help children when you are a child yourself…This makes me want to do something similar to her because of her bravery. Sophie’s high degree of uncertainty and anxiety helped her break out of her shell and show the children that it was okay to be vulnerable. When she left for her first trip, she had many expectations of what the country would be like, but she never realized the rewards it would give her when she was there. Through her uncertainty, she learned and adapted to so many things of the new culture that she showed her students that they could do the same if they tried. She also reduced their uncertainty and anxiety about English by making her books mirror their lives by making the kids look like themselves. I really enjoyed her speech and look forward to what she will do in the future.”
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS
``A personal takeaway from Sophie’s talk was in regard to the artists she hires from around the world...
Because I am actively involved in art, I found this premise both interesting and encouraging, as the vast ways the art found in the Books Unbound cartoons has helped others is incredible. Along with this, the way that Sophie was able to spontaneously move to Thailand is inspiring to me, especially because her journey led her to many great places and allowed her to get to know incredible people.”
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS
“Concerning Sophie, I have immeasurable respect for her and what she's done...
…her books taught children their native language in a written form and that was great because the children there would be able to communicate better in some instances, and they’re not losing their culture in the process.”
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS
“What I believe makes her work different is...
…she has a genuine care for the culture and is actively trying to include them and raise awareness for what it is they stand for.” 
Anonymous | Student, International Affairs at UCCS

Featured in

The Colorado Springs Gazette

“Colorado Springs woman’s mission is to reunite Rohingya people torn by persecution.”

The Jetstream Journal

“Traveling, Teaching, and Telling…”

Invite me as a guest speaker!

If you’re interested in the topics I mentioned above, let’s connect.
Email: [email protected]

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