Workshops, talks, theatre and musical performances, a book fair and book launches have been planned. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
The Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) returns to Lahore after it was first held here in 2011. The festival’s organisers released the Seventh CLF’s programme schedule on Monday.
The festival is being organised by the Idara-i-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), the Oxford University Press (OUP) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF). It will be held at the Children’s Library Complex from October 30 to October 31. The organisers are expecting as many as 25,000 children to attend the festival this year.
According to a press release, the festival will include animation, creative writing, illustration, theatre and digital workshops; activities to develop learning and reading; screenings of children’s films; puppet shows; story reading; and sing-along sessions. The festival will also include plenary sessions that will be held simultaneously in different locations at the Children’s Library Complex.
Biloonghra, a book series by Asad Mian; Language, Gender and Power -The Politics of Representation and Hegemony in South Asia by Shahid Siddiqui; and the third edition of Uran Tashtaree - CLF’s in-house publication, will be launched. There will also be a book fair.
The two-day festival will open at the Children’s Library Complex on Wednesday. The secretary for the ministry of education and training, Punjab education minister and the schools and education department secretary are expected to participate in the inauguration ceremony.
The festival will be held from 11:15am to 5:30pm on October 30 and from 9am to 4pm on October 31.
Various sessions and activities will be held simultaneously in 18 locations in the Children’s Library Complex. The Citizens’ Archive of Pakistan, Alif Laila Book Bus Society, OUP and The Little Art have organised interactive sessions, bookmaking sessions, visual storytelling, pottery making and book readings.
The Mandwa Theatre Group, Thespianz Theatre and the Gripp’s Theatre are expected to perform at the festival. There will also be musical performances by Laal band and Khaled Anum.
The festival organisers said they had received as many as 2,000 entries for creative writing, poetry, drawing and painting competitions. The winners will be announced at the festival. Young writers between the ages of eight and 11 will host some sessions on creative writing and reading.
According to a statement issued by the organisers, OUP Managing Director Ameena Saiyid said the aim of the festival was to promote a love of reading and learning among children. “We want children to become critical thinkers, to ask questions and to improve their access to information,” she said, “This will help them form educated opinions.”
Zehra Nigah, Arfa Syeda Zehra, Rumana Husain, Musharraf Ali Farooqi, Kishwar Naheed, Amjad Islam Amjad, Hamida Khuhro, Zubeida Mustafa, Dr Shahid Siddiqui and Khaled Anum are expected to participate in the festival. Alif Ailaan, Teach for Pakistan, the Lahore Waste Management Company, Punjabi Institute of Language, Art and Culture, Sindh Education Foundation, Goethe Institute, National Commission for Justice and Peace and the Democratic Commission for Human Development will also participate. Details of the schedule for the festival can be viewed on the festival’s official website (http://www.childrensliteraturefestival.com).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2013.
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