Sharjah Children's Reading Festival opens until May 14

"Train your brain", this is the slogan chosen for the 14th edition of the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival, which opened its doors today with very clear objectives: to promote awareness, knowledge and provide children and young people with the necessary tools to acquire new skills and develop their intelligence and creativity. This was stated a few days ago by the chairman of the Book Authority, Ahmed bin Rakad al-Amiri, the organisation behind this important event. 

Before opening its doors to the public, the Festival was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and ruler of Sharjah, who sponsors this important event, which is also under the guidance of his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed al-Qasimi, chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA).  Surrounded by numerous authorities, including His Highness Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan al-Qasimi, Deputy Governor of Sharjah; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence; Sheikha Bodour al-Qasimi, founder and CEO of Kalimat Group; or Nevine El-Kilany, Minister of Culture of Egypt, among other personalities, the governor toured the various exhibitors and spaces set up for the development of the numerous activities and visited the Children's Book Illustration exhibition, the result of the works selected from the Children's Illustration Competition, now in its eleventh edition. Eighty-five artists took part in the competition, and the first prize, which was announced on the occasion of the opening day, went to the Mexican artist Mariana Alcántara.

Until 14 May, the Sharjah Exhibition Centre will be a great showcase for 141 publishers of children's literature from 66 countries, 93 Arab publishers and 48 foreign publishers. A great publishing showcase that demonstrates the love of reading in these lands and the desire to promote this habit in the family, and which merges with the 1,732 activities organised. Throughout the day, mornings and afternoons, until the curtain closes on this great work, there will be workshops, round tables, conferences, talks, debates... different events in which a wide range of subjects will be dealt with, from science to technology, including sport, art and cooking, and which will feature nearly 500 guests. Current, interesting and fun topics, but also didactic and educational and with an eye to the future, which is why, for example, issues such as artificial intelligence will be discussed and reflected upon.  

Children and young people will also have the opportunity to meet their favourite writers and artists who are travelling to the emirate from 21 countries.

All these activities will be held in different spaces full of magic, colour and with a great attraction for the youngest members of the family. Strolling through the large space of the Exhibition Centre we can find the cooking corner, where prominent chefs from Portugal, Morocco and the United States will be present; the comic corner, where more than 300 initiatives will bring this world closer to children; the social networks station, where Emirati influencers, mainly, will capture the attention of young people by getting into digital platforms and their contents; or the numerous and outstanding stands where children can have fun learning and playing.  

This Festival, aimed at the whole family, not only shows a firm commitment to promoting a love of reading from an early age, but also to involving the youngest in learning that makes them reflective and imaginative at the same time, to train their brains, as the slogan chosen for this edition highlights. Educate in the present for a better future.

Books for children, talks, workshops, conferences, games... in addition to the 136 theatrical performances, travelling shows, acrobatics and concerts that will occupy the different areas of the Exhibition Centre, including the corridors, which will also become stages. Let the music play, let the improvisation come, let the smiles come out, let us be able to surprise ourselves... A Children's Reading Festival so that the grown-ups can also feel that dreams exist, that magic hides and appears in any corner.

Companies, actors, acrobats and musicians from 16 countries will add a touch of colour and warmth. 

From 3 to 5 May, the Sharjah Animation Conference will also be held in collaboration with the Bergamo Animation Days Festival in Bergamo, a space that aims to showcase the best animators and exchange ideas and experiences.  

Today is the first day of twelve days that promise to be full of adventures and not to disappoint. The music plays, the dolls seem to come out of the walls, the books turn their pages to let their stories and characters come out... to merge with new ones, all those that thousands of schoolchildren who will visit this Festival will be able to tell us. They arrive in their yellow buses full of enthusiasm. Their faces give them away. There they are... 

The curtain opens. The show has just begun.