“Great,” “Awesome,” “amazing” and “finally” were the words children and parents used to express their joy during their visit to the first festival ever dedicated to children, held in Riyadh this week under the banner “the World and I.” “Finally, we are doing something for our children instead of taking them to amusement parks and electronic game parlors,” said Hanadi Jamal, a mother of four. “I am so happy that officials have taken this up, and I hope that it is a frequent event.” And officials appear to be listening to parents like Jamal. “Yes, we do hope to have this festival frequently,” said Hind Khaleefa, the event's chief organizer. “This is the first of its kind in the Kingdom, and we hope that we can repeat it across the Kingdom and through seasons.” ‘The World and I' is a children's educational festival with the goal to educate children in a fun way about the world around them, about other countries and traditions and even about space. The festival is sponsored and organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, alongside the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Riyadh. Live comical plays, puppet shows, a science fair, a space discovery program, movies and arts and crafts are among the activities available for children to enjoy. The plays quickly became a hit among children and parents alike, with children laughing long and hard at the comical scenes. Each of the festival's five days (Sunday through Thursday) will show a different play twice, once at 9:30 AM and again at 6:30 PM. A book exhibition, designed for children with participation from more than 25 publishing companies, is also a main attraction, with books displayed according to different age groups. “This way, the children will be choosing their books on their own, instead of the parents choosing books for them,” said Khaleefah. “We are trying to make the exhibition as child-friendly as we can.” Japan and Germany are also participating in the festival, with each displaying different cultural items children could relate to. At the Japanese corner, Japanese women teach children the ancient art of Origami – making works of art by creatively folding pieces of paper. Children also enjoy the uniquely Japanese art of anime, cartoon movies in the Japanese language. Germany's best cartoon artists show children an exhibition of their work. Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani inaugurated the festival on Sunday and honored 10 pioneering Saudis who left their marks on Saudi childhood through their story writing and arts. “Today children are living in a different world than we experienced as children,” said the Minister, adding that for that reason, he disagrees with some who don't see the need of such activities simply because they grew up without them. During his tour of the festival, Madani expressed his delight with what he saw, and especially enjoyed one of the plays. “We need to encourage our children to speak their minds up and ask whatever they want,” said Madani as one child who participated in the play tried to ask him a question. The festival, held at King Fahad Cultural Center, is open for families daily from 9 AM to 12 PM and from 4 PM to 9 PM. __
