The 53rd International Children’s Book Day is being marked a little differently around the world this year.
With much of the world's children confined indoors, and communal reading events out of the question, a trio of global organisations have come together to support young people in isolation, by giving them access to their favourite books and authors, from the comfort of their living rooms.
The International Publishers Association, the World Health Organisation and Unicef have established the new Read the World initiative, which will launch today, on the 53rd International Children’s Book Day.
The initiative will beam world-renowned children's authors into homes around the world to read extracts of their books.
The first session will take place today with Italian author Elisabetta Dami, creator of the popular character Geronimo Stilton.
If you want to join in on the session, you'll need to tune in to Dami's Instagram account at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT).
Dami, whose beloved books have sold more than 180 million copies and are published in 50 different languages, will also respond to comments and questions via the platform.
Dami is particularly well placed to take place in the initiative, considering the toll the virus has taken on her native Milan.
Her career as a children's author gains new meaning too, when you consider that in the 1990s Dami found out she couldn't bear children, and so took to volunteering in paediatric hospitals instead. And then, Geronimo Stilton the mouse was born.
Written for children aged six to 12, the Geronimo Stilton books, which have titles such as The Peculiar Pumpkin Thief and The Stinky Cheese Vacation, fizz with energy and curiosity. Every page brims with one-liners and bold illustrations of characters such as Wolfgang Wild Paws, Samuel S Stingysnout and Creepella Von Cacklefur.
"I always tell children that when you do something with your heart and it's a passion, it's not a sacrifice. It is such a pleasure for me to write," Dami told The National in October.
Several other noted children's authors have agreed to host their own sessions, and announcements of authors and timings will be updated on the Read the World website.
“WHO is committed to fighting the Covid-19 pandemic on all fronts, especially when it comes to protecting young people,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says.
“We understand the fear and anxieties many feel and know how the joy of reading can stimulate young minds, ease tensions and provide hope.”
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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