Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival lines up a diverse array of 200 cultural activities
(21 April 2012)

 

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 Mr 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. 35 special guests will arrive from different countries. We have adopted “Discover Friends for Life” as the slogan of the 4th SCRF to encourage children to benefit and learn more about the cultures and heritages of other nations.”   

 

The SCRF is in line with the wise vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah and under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of Ruler of Sharjah, 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 program which is supervised by a specialized 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. 

 

Ms Hind Lenaid, General Coordinator of the SCRF, elaborated by stating: “We decided to provide a new experience for this edition of the SCRF in the Middle East by offering a specialized 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. 61 Emirati, Arab and international artists have been selected from more than 300 artists by an expert panel of international judges. The Exhibition will award valuable prizes to the top three artworks from the exhibited works: the first place winner will receive USD 8000, the second place winner will receive USD 6000 while the third place winner will pocket USD 4000. Therefore this exhibition is making great strides in identifying exceptionally gifted illustrators and outstanding illustrations around the world, and we motivate distinguished artists by setting up competitions and prizes as incentives, as well as upgrading the children’s books that Sharjah has set on its priority list in the cultural field.” 

  

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. The program also includes theatrical plays, reading sessions, popular games, circus performances, clown shows and many other activities to enhance the love for knowledge and nurture the habit of reading in children’s minds.”