The Children’s Library Complex was a changed place on Friday as dozens of children were seen filtering in and rushing out excitedly. Every room and hall of the complex was abuzz with excitement, and a light and cheerful atmosphere pervaded.
The much-awaited Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) finally opened on Friday, November 25, at the Children’s Library Complex at 10.00am. Pakistan’s first ever children’s festival focusing on books, and promotion of learning, reading and writing activities, the event was organised by Oxford University Press (OUP) and Idara-e-Taaleem-o-Agahi (ITA). The event was filled with activities for children, and while these kept them anchored to their seats, their teachers and parents also enjoyed the day’s events. The inauguration began with Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif emphasising upon the importance of education for a brighter future for the younger generation of Pakistan, the country’s most valuable asset. “All resources will be employed for the promotion of education,” he said. “Revolutionary initiatives like setting up Daanish schools for the poor in backward areas, the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, IT Labs and speech and essay writing competitions are unprecedented.” Wife of the American Ambassador in Pakistan, Dr Marilyn Wyatt, OUP Managing Director Ameena Saiyid, ITA Director Baela Raza Jameel, and the Education secretary were present on the occasion, along with teachers and students. “This festival will promote the culture of reading,” he said.
He added that the Punjab government was implementing a comprehensive strategy for the improvement of the education sector and that at least 30,000 talented students had benefited from the Educational Endowment Fund.
Wyatt, an academician in her own right, stressed on the importance of literature and discussed US initiatives for the advancement of literacy in Pakistan. She briefed the audience about the IQRA programme aimed at teaching around 0.7 million students in Sindh.
She spoke about her own reading habits since the age of seven and her interest in detective novels. “It is countries with better literacy rates that progress,” she said. OUP Managing Director Ameena Saiyid also made a speech on the occasion, accompanied by Baela Raza. Later, Wyatt read out a chapter from Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer. While many book publishers had set up stalls laden with colourful children’s books, the day was jam-packed with activities of all kinds.
Nadia Jamil started the day off in the main hall with story-time, while Marilyn read from Tom Sawyer in the auditorium, and a live cartoon and Muppet show was presented by Nigar Nazar. Some of the sections were meant for adults, where young entrepreneurs and educators of Pakistan gave presentations in the Audio Visual Room, and Shahina Alvi and Mona Qaiser read on ‘Why Some Children Cannot Read: Challenges of Inclusion’. A creative writing class for teenagers was also held, where they were given tips and guidelines on how to write in a creative manner. ‘Meet the Author’ was also held, where Zara Mumtaz spoke to children about their favourite stories, poems, characters, etc and a question and answer session was held afterwards. Children took active participation in these sessions.
Fahmida Riaz taught children how to write stories, while Tania Hasan from OUP edited them and Shireen Syed, also from OUP, illustrated and designed the stories. The whole session left the children awestruck and immensely interested in writing and illustrating.
Meanwhile some exercises were also given to children aged eight years and above for developing their imagination through reading stories. This was organised by the Punjab Textbook Board. A teacher from Balochistan, who came especially for this event with some of his students, said they had had a great time and that such events should be held more often. Rabbia, a mother said the event had been a success, and that the activities and atmosphere was wonderful to see. “The books are not much cheaper than the market prices, but they still have an excellent variety,” she said. Meanwhile, Ahmed Zaib, a driver, said he had enjoyed the event immensely, despite the fact that it was for children.
“I wish we had the whole weekend, because I was unable to come in the morning due to work and have missed out a lot. But my children absolutely loved the puppet shows and the drama,” he said, referring to an environmental awareness play by Sheema Kirmani called ‘Jungle Jungle Zindabad’. “My children are pushing me to come again tomorrow and I would love to give them the opportunity to see some more books,” he said. Meanwhile, some other children who had come with their school teachers were excited to visit the aquarium where a small variety of fishes were kept.
Mehek, a third grade student, said that despite the fact that most publishers ‘did not allow them to touch the books’, they had a lot of fun and wished festivals like this would take place all the time.
“I loved the plays and the puppet shows and the birds and fish best,” said Mehek. A large poster where children could leave their personal notes was full of colourful messages. Most children expressed their happiness at the event, with remarks and comments like, “We loved it!” and “The festival was fun”, while one or two obscure and unexplained remarks were seen too such as “You are so mean.”
CLF’s first day was declared a whooping success. The festival ends today (Saturday).
