Lahore celebrates cultural treasure via literature festival

Two-day event began at Shahi Qila on January 13th in collaboration with WCLA

LAHORE: This year, Children Literature Festival (CLF) celebrated the idea of peace, heritage and 70 years of Pakistan and highlighted the cultural treasure trove of our country. Organised by CLF and WCLA, it brought children from all parts of the city together to promote literature, heritage and young talent. The festival was a colourful educational platform that promoted the culture of learning through multiple expressions.

The two-day festival began at the historic Shahi Qila on January 13th, 2018 in collaboration with the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA). The festival was inaugurated at Deewan-e-Aam Bagh by Punjab School and Education Minister Rana Mashood Ahmed Khan.

Enriched events of cultural festivities, workshops, storytelling, discussions and interactive sessions took place with renowned resource persons, ambassadors of CLF and institutions associated with the festival.

True to its word, CLF kicked off its first day with a celebration of the young talent it encouraged through months of pre-festival school engagement. The District Education Authority and Special Education Department’s support for Children’s Literature Festival was apparent by huge number of visiting students from government intitutions. Private schools were also in attendance with students of all ages.

Amjad Islam Amjad, Salima Hashmi and Arfa Syeda Zehra appreciated the winners from art, singing and writing categories of the talent hunt.

Insightful conversations with Ameena Saiyid, Zubeida Mustafa, Faisal Bari and Dr Fouzia Khan were followed by theatrical performances and puppet shows by Sufi Tabassum Theatre Group, Atif Badar, Suneha Puppet Group and Fawad Khan. Moreover, the event was webbed with interesting book stalls and displays like- ‘Bill gates da adda’ by Microsoft and storytelling corners created by Alif Laila Book Bus Society, the British Council Libraries, Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi, Harsukh and Hast-o-Neest.

In addition to that, the Maktab Khana of the Fort showcased sufi stories- the art of calligraphy by Naqsh School of Art, while Bagh-e-Maktab was where British Council held illustrative workshops.

Commenting on the event, Kamran Lashari said, “It has been a great pleasure collaborating with the CLF team to help create this amazing event for everyone. We are confident that it will provide a source of entertainment and education for all and are hopeful that such collaborations will take place in the future.”

Furthermore, Rana Mashood, while talking about the event, said, “This is the priority of our government to promote all kinds of children-centric learning using outdoor public spaces.”

We also hope that such collaborations take place in the future as we need to continue nurturing our children for a brighter Pakistan.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2018.