(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) The Sharjah Children's Reading Festival 2015 was declared a runaway success as it closed with an increase of 54% in visitors compared to last year. The festival, being held at the Expo Centre, attracted 215,000 visitors, compared to 140,000 in 2014 and attracted 56,297 students from 637 schools from across the UAE to enjoy its vast range of activities and events.
The festival opened with the announcement by H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, of an AED 2 million grant to support participating publishers through buying books from them to provide Sharjah's public libraries and cultural institutions with educational books for children of all ages.
The Sharjah Children's Reading Festival has become a key resource for libraries in the UAE and beyond, and an index to measure the development of children's literature within the region. The first publishing free zone in the world, called Sharjah Book City was also announced at the festival by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) which itself was revealed as the umbrella organsation for most literature and publishing related activity in Sharjah.
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority, said, "The 7th edition of the festival has achieved unprecedented success, thanks to the vision of the Ruler of Sharjah, and the directives of his wife, H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs. The festival succeeded in upgrading children's culture and knowledge, and making them the focus of the creative process for a better future for them and their country."
Al Ameri added, "The festival's success is not limited to the number of its events, but to the increase of visitors who have enjoyed many cultural and entertaining activities. It also attracted 637 schools, which indicates how important the festival is considered to be by our academic institutions and how much our young people enjoy it. The success of this edition requires us to begin preparing for the 8th edition, to be held next April, with the aim of producing a festival that serves children and exceeds their expectations."
The fourth edition of the Sharjah Exhibition for Children's Book Illustrations was held on the sidelines of the reading festival, with the participation of 385 artworks created by 134 illustrators from 31 Arab and overseas countries. The exhibition, which is the only event of its kind in the Arab world, aims to create an artistic culture that celebrates illustrators in recognition of their work in making books more attractive for children to read.
The Car Carnival was also held during the festival for the first time. This was a parade of vehicles decorated by school children with illustrations about Sharjah's monuments organised in collaboration with the Sharjah Educational Zone to create an interactive experience among school students and achieve the festival's goals of supporting the learning process and nurturing student's creativity.
Social media channels were also buzzing with news from the festival with a group of famous social media activists, including Ali Al Jasmi, Emirati inventor Adeeb Al Baloushi, Public Programme and Outreach Officer at Sharjah Art Foundation, Nawar Al Qasimi, and Director of Digital Media at Dubai Media Incorporated, Heba Al Samt promoting SCRF over social networks.
The festival welcomed hundreds of prominent writers, academics and artists in children's literature and education, including Egyptian artist Lubluba; Egyptian actress, Azza Labib; writers Shawki Hijab, Abdo Zarra, and Yaqoub Al Sharouni, as well as authors Rosemary Wells, Brandon Sandoson, Dr. Huweida Saleh, and Radica Menon.
T.rex: The Killer Question exhibition, the largest of its kind in the UAE, was also on display during the festival and saw a huge turnout of visitors, both children and adults, who got the opportunity to learn about the history of dinosaurs in both English and Arabic. Organised in collaboration with the Natural History Museum in the UK, it showcased life-size, animatronic and static models of the prehistoric creatures, complete with skeleton casts of real fossils and graphic displays. This was the first time such an exhibition came to Sharjah.
The festival, which was held under the theme Discover My City, had 2028 cultural, educational and entertaining events, as well as a book fair, with the participation of 109 publishing houses from 15 countries. The UAE topped the list of participating countries with 40 publishing houses, followed by Lebanon with 25 and Egypt with 17 publishing houses, alongside Australia, Canada, and India, among many other countries that showcased children's books.
Visitors were able to enjoy dozens of entertainment and creative activities and art, scientific and health workshops, theatrical performances and shows, along with stories, competitions and puppet shows, designed specifically for children. A series of seminars and lectures were also held to discuss ways to develop children's literature and to motivate them to read more, with the aim of expanding their knowledge and igniting their imagination.
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