SHARJAH // A team of book advocates has spent the past six years working to give every child the right – and the passion – to read.
Since the establishment of the UAE Board on Books for Young People in 2010, those working with the board have sought to ensure that every youth in the country develops a reading habit.
“The board’s mission is to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards, to encourage the publication and distribution of high-quality children’s books and do everything we can to promote a culture of reading among young people,” said Joshua Dunning, an executive of international projects at the board.
The UAE body is part of the International Board on Books for Young People.
“We do this through initiatives and programmes that include supporting writers, publishers and illustrators and through programmes and competitions in schools aimed at encouraging children to read more,” said Mr Dunning.
In 2013, the board set up the Read, Dream, Create campaign to encourage the young to develop a reading habit.
“We go to all parts of the UAE to read and provide fun activities for children,” said Meera Al Naqbi, the board’s general coordinator.
“At the same time, we also donate books to children in need throughout the emirates.”
Ms Al Naqbi, a 25-year-old Emirati resident of Sharjah, said the importance of reading among children could not be stressed enough.
“All stories – whether they be fables, myths, fiction or non-fiction novels – help children to grow and develop as they broaden their minds by showing them a different world and perspectives of different kinds of people,” she said.
“Every book carries a message and perspective and that is why I think it is very important that children develop a reading habit as early in their life as possible, and familiarise themselves with different literary genres in order for them to become well-rounded individuals.”
Eman Mohamed, a programmes and award executive at the board, said the organisation was helping to develop the children’s book industry in the UAE by supporting initiatives such as the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, a Dh1 million literary prize recognising and awarding the authors, illustrators and publishers of children’s books.
The board also supports Books – Made in UAE, its project with the Goethe-Institut, in which award-winning German experts train Emirati authors and illustrators to produce books that reflect the UAE’s cultural values.
Not only satisfied with fostering the UAE as a nation of book lovers, the board also funds initiatives to support children around the world with limited or no access to books.
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