UAEBBY highlights power of stories

SHARJAH: A UAE Board on Books For Young People (UAEBBY) delegation, led by its director, Marwa Al Aqroubi, is making valuable contributions to key global conversations on the power of stories recently at the 38th IBBY International Congress in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

The UAEBBY has highlighted its efforts and initiatives to promote both human and cultural values in Arabic speaking younger generations in the UAE and beyond through children’s literature and storytelling.

Inspired by the theme of the Congress “The Power of Stories,” Al Aqroubi has turned the spotlight on UAEBBY initiative, Kan Yama Kan (Once Upon a Time), and shared the ways in which the entity has brought the world of stories together with young readers, wherever they might be, in line with Sharjah’s strategy to elevate the role of books and reading to nurture conscientious generations of global citizens rooted strongly in their Arab identity and heritage.

Through the four pillars of Kan Yama Kan, namely, book collections, donations, bibliotherapy and training local authors and publishers in silent book production, the UAEBBY has leveraged the power of storytelling to shape positive beliefs and behaviours in children including young refugees and migrant Arabs who have faced trauma at a young age; advocated for change and connected people by bridging gaps through the application of universal themes that transcend nations and cultures.

Al Aqroubi, who also attended the opening ceremony of the IBBY Congress concluded her presentation, saying, “We believe in stories, and we believe they are capable of alleviating some of the suffering for children who are living in difficult situations. So our gift to them is books, and we hope they can give their imagination wings to fly into a brighter future.”

Part of the delegation was British artist and author Ella Berthoud who has led a series of UAEBBY workshops to train the first-ever batch of 14 professional bibliotherapists in the UAE.