Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) - Sharjah Children's Reading Festival from April 23

Sharjah Children's Reading Festival will be held from April 23 to May 2 at Expo Centre with a diverse range of attractions, including one that is the very first of its kind in the Middle East.

IBNA: According to news, the fourth Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) is geared to host approximately 200 cultural activities from April 23 to May 2. The SCRF includes special events to enrich children’s imagination and intellect. Workshops on both the publishing and marketing aspects of children’s books will reinforce children’s skills and enhance their abilities to communicate with the diverse world, as part of the modern global village.

The management of the SCRF are keen for the festival to have a creative atmosphere that fosters exceptional illustrations and writing. These constitute the key elements in a learning environment, according to Ahmad Bin Rakad Al Amri, director of the Sharjah International Book Fair, who added: “We have prepared numerous spectacular events targeted at children, including theatrical plays from various parts of the world. We have adopted “Discover Friends for Life” as the slogan of the fourth SCRF to encourage children to benefit and learn more about the cultures and heritage of other nations.”

The SCRF is in line with the wise vision of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. This particular edition will offer distinguished and memorable shows for expressive children’s illustrations.

Commenting further on the spectacle, Al Amri stated: “Our activities in this session are guided by the extrapolation of statistically accurate indicators of children’s fairs that have been held in previous years, with the participation of the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information represented by the management of the Sharjah International Book Fair which is always keen to create an interactive and effective environment that encourages children to be part of the multimedia world, thereby learning constructive lessons in the field of innovation and development.”

“We also aim to provide children with the opportunity to meet and interact with children’s book illustrators and writers from around the world.”

The intellectual programme, which is supervised by a specialised team, includes over 100 cultural events targeting children, and more than 50 deliberative forums. These events will unfold over the ten-day duration of the SCRF.

Hind Lenaid, general co-ordinator of the SCRF, elaborated: “We decided to provide a new experience for this edition of the SCRF in the Middle East by offering a specialised exhibition of professional drawings of children’s books through the Sharjah Children’s Books Illustrators Exhibition. It is another new category launched in this edition, which will display professional drawings by over 100 artists within the general exhibition as well as parallel exhibitions. Sixty-one Emirati, Arab and international artists have been selected from more than 300 artists by an expert panel of international judges.

She concluded: “We have prepared a broad spectrum of activities that cater to children of all ages — including those with special needs, the hearing impaired, the speech impaired and the visually impaired. These activities will be performed by a wide range of Gulf, Arab and international artists.”