Saudi ministers meet UK's defense secretary to strengthen bilateral ties    Saudi-French Ministerial Committee holds second meeting to advance AlUla development    Abo Noghta Castles in Tabab joins UNESCO's Best Tourism Villages list    RSAF and Saudi Falcons captivate audiences at Bahrain airshow    Mike Tyson slaps Jake Paul during final face-off    South Africa's Mia le Roux pulls out of Miss Universe pageant    US hacker sentenced over Bitcoin heist worth billions    Ten dead in fire at Spanish retirement home    UN climate talks 'no longer fit for purpose' say key experts    Questions raised over Portugal's capacity to host Europe's largest annual tech event    Delhi shuts all primary schools as hazardous smog worsens    Riyadh lights up as Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez dazzle at Elie Saab's 45th-anniversary celebration    Mohammed Al-Habib Real Estate Co. sets Guinness World Record with largest continuous concrete pour    Australia and Saudi Arabia settle for goalless draw in AFC Asian Qualifiers    PIF completes largest-ever accelerated bookbuild offering in MENA region    Saudi Arabia's inflation rate hits 1.9% in October, the highest in 14 months    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    South Korean actor Song Jae Lim found dead at 39    Don't sit on the toilet for more than 10 minutes, doctors warn    Saudi Champion Saeed Al-Mouri scores notable feat in Radical World Championship in Abu Dhabi with support from Bin-Shihon Group    France to deploy 4,000 police officers for UEFA Nations League match against Israel    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Children's literature seeks revival at Universal Children's Day
WAFA BADAWOUD & ARWA KHUSHAIFATI
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 28 - 11 - 2010

JEDDAH: Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, launches Sunday night five days of events at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh to mark Universal Children's Day, officially celebrated annually on November 20.
With a range of events staged for both adults and children to enjoy, publishers and writers of children's literature will have a particularly noticeable presence as they seek to promote books and revive the interest of children, parents and the authorities alike.
“Everyone talks about how important children's literature is, but in reality there's no organization with a presence or a clear-cut program for children and conducting studies or introducing programs around the country,” said Othman Al-Seeni, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Arabiya magazine.
“All we see are official bodies that include children's literature in their various events such as the King Abdul Aziz Public Library and seasonal activities run by ministries and educational and local authorities.”
Al-Seeni said many persons involved in the field of children's literature take an adult's perspective and not that of children themselves in terms of their culture, formation and requirements. Technology has advanced, he says, and while most efforts still focus on cartoons, color books and some electronic games, children themselves have already left behind games consoles and moved on to portable devices “the size of the palm of your hand”.
“Any means of addressing children that does not take into account their areas of interest is a waste of time, money and effort,” he said. “International companies now produce children's programs for the iPhone and iPad.”
Yaqoub Ishaq, Editor-in-Chief of “Hassan” children's magazine, believes there is potential for children's literature in the Kingdom but that writers “don't find the necessary encouragement or interest from the authorities, with the exception of the Ministry of Culture which purchases and publishes limited quantities of books by Saudi writers”.
“Saudi writers have been ignored while interest has turned to books from abroad,” Ishaq says. “It's impossible for Saudi children's literature to grow.”
November 20 marks the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989, and Salim Al-Tuwaiqri of the Education Administration says the Kingdom has brought in programs and services to help children “grow in the various aspects of their personalities”.
“The Convention states that a child is anyone under the age of 18, a definition that covers all public education pupils, and the Ministry of Education has been working to achieve the aims of the Kingdom's education policy,” Al-Tuwaiqri said.
“The Education Administration is aware of the importance of this, beginning with the educational and administrative responsibility to put into effect the Convention on Rights of the Child and putting in place procedures to provide the best conditions for education and to ensure psychological, educational and social harmony in pupils' personalities,” he said.
The programs, he added, are not confined to one day a year, but involve activities throughout the academic year.
Child psychologist Jamal Al-Tuwaiqri said that Universal Children's Day could be used to promote public awareness of how to better transmit information to children and identify the sort of information that is inappropriate for their age.
“Each child needs to be handled according to his or her age,” Al-Tuwaiqri said. “We also need awareness against the use of aggression, which only produces aggressive or submissive people.”
The festival, open for visitors from 5 P.M. to 10:30 P.M., will host theater and puppet shows as well as workshops for children to learn a variety of creative and technical skills.
Gift packs will be handed out over the five days of the event, and embassies from around the Arab World and beyond will be in attendance at their designated wings.


Clic here to read the story from its source.