Activities for the second day of the fair include educational workshops, panel discussions, and inspiring storytelling sessions
The first edition of the Fujairah Children’s Book Fair, launched on Sunday, 13 October 2024, continued its second day of activities at Al Bayt Mitwahid Hall in Fujairah. The event drew notable attendance from school students and families, who gathered to explore renowned literary and intellectual works and browse the latest publications from leading local and international publishers.
Day two of the fair featured a diverse range of cultural activities and events for the public, including interactive workshops, panel discussions, and lectures on a variety of topics delivered by authors and influential figures. All the sessions witnessed enthusiastic engagement from the participating children.
The day began with an educational, interactive, and entertaining workshop by Mohammed Jamal in Arabic and English at Fujairah’s Future corner. The workshop focused on how to create a story for children and brought together a group of school students.
Meanwhile, Sahar Naja, Founder and Director of Kiwi Stories Publishing House and a children’s author, hosted another workshop titled ‘Reflect Your Ideas on Paper’. This workshop welcomed a large group of children and sought to teach them how to transform their ideas into inspiring stories, enhance their creative writing, and develop their imagination. Moreover, efforts of this kind aim to shape a creative new generation capable of expressing their thoughts innovatively.
Naja focused on a range of topics, including sources of story ideas and how to construct them, elements of a story from characters to plot, and methods used to give objects sounds and scents tied to the emotions they evoke. In addition, Naja also shared techniques to describe emotions such as boredom, happiness, and longing and how to connect them to events and write about them.
During her workshop, Naja also explored sources of information and inspiration, emphasising the importance of imagination in writing. The workshop also included practical exercises, where children selected a specific object or imaginary creature to write stories about, which allowed them to understand how to form and write an idea.
For her part, Dr Safaa Azmi, an author and educator, presented an educational storytelling session. She highlighted her three works, The Sound of Letters, My Brother and I, and The Orange Duck, while blending techniques for teaching children letters and words with enjoyable stories.
Day two of the Fujairah Children’s Book Fair hosted a highly successful panel discussion on its main stage, titled Children of Determination in Children’s Stories. The session featured Mohamed Al Nabulsi, a children’s and young adult author from Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services, and Yusr Al Abayji, Executive and Creative Director of Cuddle Family Publishing House. The session was moderated by Qais Abu Omran from the Abu Dhabi Autism Centre.
The session addressed how people of determination and their rights are depicted in children’s books, underlining the need to standardise terminology related to children of determination. Topics also covered the process for drafting new books addressing diversity, the difference between accessible and inclusive books and the experience of producing accessible books.
Day two of the book fair concluded with an interactive storytelling session led by Emirati children’s author Ebtisam Al Beiti, which garnered notable attention. Al Beiti recounted her famous story, A Dragon called Blue, to a large audience of young visitors, creating an atmosphere of excitement and imagination. The session concluded with a book signing, where children received autographed copies from the author.