We Love Reading participated in the first forum for organizers of festivals and of storytelling forums in the Arab world, the forum was held in conjunction with the 15th edition of the Hakaya Forum, which is organized by Al-Balad Theater and the Arab Educational Forum under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and in cooperation with UNESCO.
During this forum, various institutions presented their experiences, in organizing festivals that focus on restoring the centrality of storytelling in art, learning, and life, in order to have a deep look into different experiences and build on shared values and discuss how could we build a creative educational community that restores the centrality of the story in our lives.
Her Excellency Haifa Al-Najjar, Minister of Culture, launched the forum, she indicated that stories teach us to listen to each other, help us learn from other experiences, and help us become more accepting and open-minded, she pointed out the importance of the stories in enhancing ethical principles, knowledge, and educational materials, it also important in transferring of the cultural heritage to the next generation.
She concluded that the Ministry of Culture supports everything that would root the country’s history with more steadfastness, creativity, and innovation, which enhances our national identity and authentic values, and with which young people feel proud of our national achievements.
In this context, We Love Reading has been collaborating with the Ministry of Culture, where the National Reading Campaign was launched earlier in May of this year under the patronage of Her Excellency Minister Haifa Al-Najjar, with the aim of changing thinking patterns through reading.
A group of We Love Reading ambassadors participated in the forum. On the first day, our ambassador Tammam Al-Hiyari, a teacher and children’s book Writer, attended and shared her experience of reading for children and how it contributed to motivating and supporting children.
On the second day, another two of our ambassadors participated in the forum, Alaa Al-Badarneh, teacher in Tafileh governorate, who has been implementing the “We Love Reading” program since 2016 and designing special activities for children, and Fatima Enaba, who received the “We Love Reading” training at the beginning of this year and was one of the most active ambassadors in the national reading campaign and held many reading sessions for children.
On the third day, our Ambassador, Sabreen Maharema, a school counselor, and her mother our ambassador Ilham Al-Najjar attended. Sabreen said: “Reading for children is very important, and it generates a lot of feelings for children, and helps them discover their talents.