Curtain comes down on reading festival
sharjah — As the cover closed on the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) on Saturday, the 10th edition saw more than 200,000 visitors come through its doors this year.
Although the 2018 visitor footfall did not surpass last year’s total of 306,000, Ahmed Al Ameri, chairperson of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) told Khaleej Times this edition has been a “major success” in terms of interactive opportunities on offer.
“This festival is not about breaking numbers. When it does, great, but we have to take into account that more than 200,000 visitors have come this year. That is huge.”
The 11-day festival, held under the theme ‘Your Future … Just a Book Away’ hosted more than 300 schools for its 2018 edition and more than 2,600 cultural and literary events and activities. The official footfall figures, however, will be released on Sunday.
“This year, student attendance was less than last year but I will host a meeting with the Ministry of Education to address this. The ministry is always very supportive of our programmes so I’m not sure why school attendance was down,” he said.
Commenting on the addition of extra sessions and workshops to this year’s agenda, Al Ameri said this is something they are keen to “keep strengthening going forward”.
“This year we saw so many accomplishments through the interactive sessions. We hosted more creative workshops than ever like the engineering labs, and the sessions on creating your own newspaper. They were a big hit with children because they are hands on.”
Over 130 publishers from 18 Arab and foreign countries showcased their books and literary works at the festival this year, and it was attended by 286 authors, poets and literary guests hailing from 121 countries.
In regards to what we can expect from next year’s edition, Al Ameri said like every year, it’s a case of going back to the drawing board to see what it can do to improve on the year before it.
“Every year we improve and evaluate what we present. We get feedback from visitors and highlight the strengths and weaknesses. Every year is a learning curve and with the youth noted as the future of this country, we need to keep up with their wants and needs.”
kelly@khaleejtimes.com