Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) is gearing up to host the 10th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) in style. A line-up of 2,600 cultural and literary events and activities to enrich and entertain all ages, books and literary materials showcased by 134 publishers from 18 Arab and foreign nations, and 286 authors, poets and literary guests hailing from 121 countries, who will all come together to present an 11-day cultural extravaganza at a venue spanning 2,233 sqmt. – is just a numeric overview of what’s in store at the biggest children’s reading festival in the region this year. 

Scheduled to run from April 18-28 at Expo Centre Sharjah, under the theme, ‘Your Future… Just a Book Away’, SCRF 2018 will see many new attractions, the details of which were presented at a press conference by HE Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA, today (Monday,
April 2), at the SBA headquarters.

HE Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, Director General of Sharjah Media Corporation (SMC), and Mohammed Al Amimi, Vice President of Business and Customer Relations at Etisalat, several SBA officials as well as a numerous representatives of local and regional media, intellectuals and children’s literature enthusiasts were in attendance.

Giving a detailed presentation of the programme schedule and main highlights of SCRF 2018, Al Ameri observed that it reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to nurture future generations and empower them with intellect and knowledge, fostering their lives in a way that develops their knowledge and appreciation of diverse cultures.

He said that SCRF’s rich programme of diverse activities has been designed in line with the guidance of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA), to offer the festival as a platform where world cultures meet to enrich one another with innovation and creativity.

Of the 134 participating publishers, the UAE tops the list 62 representations, followed by Lebanon (22), Egypt (21), Jordan and the UK with five publishers each, in addition to companies from USA, South Korea and China, among others.

SCRF 2018 will host of series of interactive activities spanning several programmes under the main themes of Kids Activities, Cultural Programmes, Cultural Café, Kids' Creative Café, Social Media Café and Cookery Corner.

For the first time, workshops will be held in spaces that will be similar to labs where participants will enjoy a heightened level of interaction. It was revealed that some of these activities will be held in the same areas where publishers will set up their exhibition stands to bring children closer to books and other sources of knowledge while enabling parents to enjoy these events with their children.

Festival mascots: ‘Noqta’ (Dot), ‘Qalam’ (Pen), ‘Wamda’ (Flash), and ‘Shuaa’ (Beam)

In a bid to make the festival more appealing to children, four new characters have been brought to SCRF. These children - ‘Wamda’ (Flash), ‘Qalam (Pen), ‘Noqta’ (Dot) and Shuaa’ (Beam) – who depicted as inhabitants of a distant land and a future far away, will be in Sharjah through the 11 days of the festival to accompany the young festival-goers on their journey of fun and learning. More than 1,200 name suggestions were entered as part of an SCRF social media contest. The winners whose names were chosen will be awarded at the festival. Through these characters, SBA seeks to move closer to the child’s imagination and capture it in a way that makes the SCRF vision relatable to young readers, and by offering them the benefits of reading and learning fun, playful and creative ways.

Future Machine Exhibition

SCRF 2018 will be the first to host the ‘Future Machine’ exhibition in the festival’s 10-year history. Through a series of insightful and entertaining activities tailored to appeal the acumen of the youth, the exhibition seeks to broaden their horizons of understanding in science, knowledge and future technologies.

Live visual shows offering children insights into the new digital age, models and replicas that run on the basics of artificial intelligence and the principles of how robots function will be some of the exhibition’s attractions.   

3D Book exhibition

The 3D Book exhibition will also be a first-time SCRF attraction, and bring together 250 pop-up books from the 3D Book Centre in the Italian city of Forli. The books on display will represent eight periods of time, starting with The Beginnings (1880), and From Three Dimensions to Modelling (1920), and The Birth of the Concept Model (1930), The Fan (1940), The Global Achievement (1950), Kopasta Books (1960), Phase of Modelling Books (1970), and finally, the New Amazing Millennium (2000).