Culture & Education | Saturday 4 June, 2016 3:26 pm |

In line with President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan declaring 2016 as the ‘Year of Reading’ in the UAE, and taking a lead on the national policy of promoting a love of books in the country, the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature has continued implementing its literary promotion across the UAE. 

 

Sponsored by Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY), the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature held two discussion panels about the importance of reading at Musab bin Omair Primary School in Al Manama - Ajman and at Safiya bint Huyai School for Basic Education in Dibba Al Fujairah. 

 

The two activities formed part of a series of discussion panels organised by Etisalat in a number of public schools to acquaint students with the important role of reading in education, highlighting to them various useful learning methods to help them in their studies now and in the future. 

 

Conducted by His Excellency Abdul Aziz Taryam, CEO Advisor and General Manager of Etisalat Northern Regions, in the presence of Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY Executive Board, the panel discussions involved conversations with the students aimed at promoting a literary culture. The objective of the dialogue was to instil within them a love of Arabic books and inspire them to turn reading into a daily habit.

 

Abdul Aziz Taryam discussed with the students the importance of reading and the crucial role it plays in growing one’s intellect and contributing to the advancement of society. He listened to the children expressing their ambitions for the future and encouraged them to continue their studies, saying that this would empower them with knowledge so that they could accomplish their dreams.

 

On the side-lines of the panel discussions, a team from the UAEBBY organised reading sessions at the schools in which they recited from “Baghlat Al Qadi” book by Dr. Shafiq Mahdi, winner of the 2015 Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature to students of Musab bin Omair Primary School, and they recited from “ Ommi Jadedah” (My new Mother) book to students of Safiya bint Huyai School. Interactive workshops were also held in which children recreated the stories that were narrated to them, revealing their skills for reimagining and articulate expression. 

 

Falling within Etisalat’s efforts to nurture children’s and young people’s minds with unique intellectual content, HE Taryam presented a number of titles that had been recipients of the Etisalat Award over the past few years, with the books now established as important works in the respective schools’ libraries that are available to students throughout the school year.

 

Commenting on the activities taking place at the two schools, HE Taryam said; “The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature is holding these panel discussions in line with our wise leadership’s vision of declaring 2016 the Year of Reading in the UAE and their launch of the Arabic Reading Challenge, which together aim to further the promotion of reading within and beyond the UAE. Etisalat was one of the first enterprises to incorporate these important directives because it believes that intellectual investment in children will yield impressive results and provide positive support not only to individuals themselves, but society as a whole.”

 

 

He added; “The two panels held today form part of a series of discussion events organised in public schools which represent our commitment to nurturing the minds of youngsters with unique intellectual content. It also aligns with our social responsibility towards children and young people, which we aim to achieve by helping them adopt creative paradigms at an early age. Reading is an invaluable activity that increases children’s imagination and builds their mental and cognitive capacities – this is the message we are seeking to convey.”

 

For her part, Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY Executive Board, said; “The UAE Board on Books for Young People is keen to support all initiatives that promote a culture of reading among children and young adults and instils within them a love of Arabic books. Our participation in holding these reading sessions and the discussion panels, which are organised by our strategic partner Etisalat, forms an essential component of this goal.”

 

Al Aqroubi praised the efforts of Etisalat in motivating authors and illustrators who work in the children’s literature industry, saying that the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature elevates the level of children’s books, promotes reading among students, sheds light on individual talents and encourages more people who work in the children’s literature publishing industry to be creative and innovative.

 

Etisalat has been instrumental in supporting an array of activities to elevate the intellectual and literary spheres in the UAE. The organisation has sponsored the Etisalat Award for Arabic children’s literature since 2009, rewarding the best talents in the children’s book industry in five categories; ‘Best Children’s Book of the Year,’ Best Young Adult Book of the Year,’ ‘Best Text,’ ‘Best Illustration’ and ‘Best Production.’ The award is worth AED one million, distributed between the five categories and the workshops that accompany them.

 

UAEBBY is the national branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a non-profit organisation which represents an international network of people who are committed to bringing books and children together. IBBY seeks to promote global understanding through children’s books; to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to reading material with high literary and artistic standards; to provide support and training for those involved with children and children’s literature; to stimulate research and scholarly works in the field of children’s literature and to protect and uphold the right of the child to a general education that includes direct access to information.