“I am living a dream I never dreamt,” shared renowned American cartoonist, Jerry Craft, with school children at his inaugural talk at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2024) on Tuesday. The author of over two dozen books, including several that have attained the New York Times bestseller status, Craft reflected on the importance of personal storytelling. “I began illustrating because I was disillusioned by the repetitive and struggling depictions of African-Americans across the media. Not all shared that narrative; and it certainly wasn’t my experience. I wanted to showcase a different reality, so I started writing my own…
Author: Kashan Tumsil
Teen literary champions from the ‘Voices of Future Generations’, a UNESCO initiative supported by Her Highness Sheikha Hessa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East, and backed by the Emirates Literature Foundation, delved into the transformative power of writing, and how children can use their creative talents to shape their futures and influence society, during a panel discussion titled ‘Writing for Change’ at the ongoing 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2024), on Tuesday. Abdulkareem Ghazal, a winner in the VoFG competition and moderator of the session, shared with his audience his…
Monument Bank, a UK-based neo-bank, is pleased to announce the establishment of a strategic financial relationship with Sheikha Amal Suhail Bahwan, Chairperson of the National Bank of Oman, and one of the most prominent individuals in the financial services sector in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Sheikha Bahwan has acquired a significant equity stake in Monument Bank and will contribute to further developing Monument Bank’s operations in the UK, the GCC, and across other international markets. Sheikha Bahwan’s experience will help in guiding the strategy for scaling up the bank’s operations in the UK, and in shaping and advancing some…
Egypt will showcase its commitment to enhancing the tourist experience and attracting new visitors from the UAE, GCC, and globally by highlighting the country’s tourism potential, forthcoming projects, and future initiatives at Arabian Travel Market 2024 (ATM) in Dubai as it looks to build on the record 15 million tourists welcomed in 2023. Dr. Ghada Shalaby, Egypt’s Vice Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism Affairs, said: “Egypt is gearing up to attract a wide range of travelers based on its commitment to diversifying its tourism offerings. The Ministry has worked to unveil a group of new products that meet…
In an enlightening session on “How To Build Influence with Gen Z in Just 30 Seconds”, Marc-Antoine Simon, Industry Manager, Travel and Tourism – MENA, TikTok, shared insights on the latest trends in community-led marketing, demonstrating how brief yet powerful content can significantly influence travel decisions. According to research commissioned by Exodus Travels in 2023, only 45% of vacations lived up to or exceeded the perfect picture they had imagined. On average, travellers search through 38 different travel sites to figure out where to go, how to get there and where to book, with 58% admitting to abandoning a…
“An angry gas is a loud gas,” warned the bunch of ‘scientists’ called Brainiacs experimenting with combustible gases, ice and balloons as they performed a range of scientific presentations for primary school children at the 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) running at Expo Centre Sharjah until May 12. Based on the popular eponymous TV show, the “Brainiac Remixed” live show at SCRF was a bilingual treat, and prepared the young crowd for science that surprised them with its magic. The amazing entertainers in lab coats first tested the strength of materials like cling film or polyethylene,…
In a heartwarming display of dedication to childhood cancer awareness, Friends Of Cancer Patient’s (FOCP) extended the impact of their “ANA” initiative at the Health Promotion Department’s section in the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah pavilion, during the 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), currently taking place in Expo Centre Sharjah. FOCP orchestrated a special session headed by Mariam Al Harmoodi, Head of Community Engagement at FOCP. The session was geared towards educating young attendees about the main symptoms of childhood cancer and ways to prevent it through a healthy lifestyle and diet. As part…
The 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, under the theme “Once Upon a Hero”, has been a big hit with children of all ages. Like in every edition, the 12-day action-packed festival has roaming shows that engage and interact with young ones and their parents. This year, the Brick People – a team of Slovakian artistes dressed up as sailor, racing driver, footballer Ronaldo, tennis player, fashionista, prince, and the like – is presenting a roaming show featuring life-sized assembled brick characters that mingle with the crowd of young visitors, dance to music, pause to shake hands or…
The straightforward messaging and structure of comics might suggest that creating them is child’s play in the world of literature. However, they are as nuanced and rigorous as writing a novel, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, an author, pointed out at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2024), whose 15th edition runs at Expo Centre Sharjah until May 12. Ibrahim, the author of four comics — Mysterioso #1, Mysterioso #2: Mind Games and Beyond, Heroes of the Gulf, and On the Green Hills — started his journey four years ago. Ibrahim hosted a masterclass for children interested in writing their own graphic…
Popular writer and singer Gurwinder Singh Gill Raunta’s new book ‘Hello! Main Lahore Ton Boldan” was released in a grand event, which was organized at the Sheraton Grand Hotel on May 5 by Folk Studios Events Organisers, Dubai lead by Saby Saanjh. International readers, writers and artistic personalities, who love Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat participated the event. Apart from other countries, personalities associated with literature and culture from Indian and Pakistani Punjab were present at the occasion, from which Nasir Dhillon, Harf Cheema, V.P. Singh Gill, Manpreet Kaur Sidhu, Kuldeep Chirag and Ravi Multani were prominent at the event. This…