Innovative tactics to attract children to books employed
For immediate release
Sharjah, 22 April 2017
The Sharjah Girl Guides (SGG) stand at Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2017) sparkled with crowns and jewels and the smiles of little princes and princesses at the ‘Crowns’ workshop – an innovative activity devised by one of the UAE’s leading guiding movements to encourage children to approach reading with a positive mindset.
In a bid to show children that the act of reading can be as enjoyable for them as playing with friends, or engaging in their favourite hobbies, SGG arranged for colourful crown cut-outs with the slogan ‘I Love Reading’ for children to embellish with diamond stickers, sparkling glue and colourful markers.
Apart from decorating and personalising their crowns, children scribbled their favourite books (from Harry Potter to Beauty and the Beast, and even To Kill a Mocking Bird) on sticky notes, and put them up on the ‘Recommend a Book’ wall at the stand.
Children also used the cosy SGG library, ‘Read a Book’, which displayed several titles published and distributed by Knowledge Without Borders (KwB), the Sharjah-based cultural project. The displayed books covered a range of genres in children’s books, including books on nature, wildlife, fairy tales, fiction, famous world figures like Albert Einstein, and others.
Other creative workshops that children can enjoy during the course of this 11-day reading fest include making bookmarks and trying a hand at string art.
Sharjah’s guiding movement was first established in 1973, after which it spread across the emirates, giving rise to the Girl Guides Association of the United Arab Emirates in 1979. Under the patronage 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, SGG aims to inspire and nurture future generations to become progressive global citizens by providing a platform for girls to develop to their fullest potential.
Running from 19 to 29 April at Expo Centre Sharjah, the ninth edition of SCRF is being held under the theme ‘Discover Beyond’ and features a line-up of 2,093 activities. A total of 123 exhibitors from across the world are displaying their literature-related products and services at the event.
The full programme of the SCRF’s children’s activities, seminars and workshops can be found on www.scrf.ae.
