The second Silent Book Exhibition, curated by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), was launched in Rome in 2015 and is being brought to the UAE for the very first time by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) this August.

Now a prestigious internationally touring exhibition, the Silent Book project started out as an IBBY initiative in 2012 in Italy’s Lampedusa, the largest Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea, and the prime gate for refugees from Africa, the Middle East to enter Europe. The project was aimed at providing refugee children in Lampedusa a collection of wordless picture books for them to be able to understand and enjoy regardless of language.

Hosted by the Sharjah Art Foundation, the eight-week exhibition will be inaugurated on 1 August at the Flying Saucer, and will mark the first event of this kind in the Arab region. It will display 54 wordless picture books, 51 books from 18 countries, which are part of the 2015 Silent Book Collection, and 3 silent books from the Arab region.

The books in this collection come from five continents and provide not just children, but artists, designers, illustrators, and publishers in the region with a sweeping overview on the world of wordless book publishing.

The exhibition seeks to further the mission of the UAEBBY’s Kan Yama Kan (Once Upon a Time) initiative, which has been setting up libraries for children living in areas with limited or no access to books due to social unrest, natural calamities and war.

Commenting on the literary and educational value of these silent books, President of the UAEBBY , Marwa Al Aqroubi remarked: “The language of pictures is universal, and can be more powerful in its communicative abilities than spoken language or the written word. We have seen how wordless books in the Silent Book Collection have been presenting young refugees with the most fascinating opportunities to share experiences with each other, get educated, have fun and alleviate the emotional and psychological stress they underwent during their trip.”  

“We are pleased to bring this travelling exhibition, which has been enjoyed by people from many parts of the world, to the UAE for the first time. These books are rich, original, have a powerful narrative force, and will be a great learning experience for people of all ages. We hope that the exhibition will encourage Arabic authors, illustrators and publishers to publish similar books,” she added.  

Wordless picture books also enhance visual literacy, an aspect of learning claimed by researchers, educators, museum professionals and filmmakers to improve creativity, critical thinking, educational achievement, and empathy towards others. To this end, many other activities and workshops designed for publishers and illustrators, as well as events based on silent books will be organised for children on the sidelines of the exhibition.