Children Literature Festival

Introduction

Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and the Oxford University Press (OUP), in collaboration with Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) Pakistan, are delighted to announce the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) for the children of Lahore and, subsequently, for those of other cities of Pakistan.

CLF is the first literature festival for the children of Pakistan to be held at the national level. It aims to promote reading, creativity, and critical thinking among children. The CLF is an exciting initiative aimed at creating an interest in children in books, reading, writing, authors, and literature and to lure them. It is a part of our ongoing efforts to lure them into experiencing the joys and rewards of reading for pleasure and information. This is also a part of OUP’s ongoing effort to develop a taste for reading among the children of Pakistan, and entice them into savoring the pleasures offered by books. Studies show that a love for reading leads to children’s success in schools.

An exciting and fun-filled programme is planned for the CLF. It will feature talks and readings by famous children’s writers, provide opportunities for children to listen to their favourite books being read and discussed, attend classes on creative writing, learn about bookmaking, write book reviews, attend puppet shows and children’s theatre, and participate in many other fascinating activities related to reading. For educators, the programme is designed to create a better understanding of using books for triggering children’s imaginations. There will be sessions on local languages to popularize mother tongue learning in Pakistan.

CLF will be a two-day festival to be held on 25 and 26 November 2011. The venue will be the Children’s Library Complex at Shahra-e-Aiwan-e-Tijarat (next to Bagh–e-Jinnah). Children and educators from all over the country will attend the CLF as participants. On the guest list will be local and international celebrities, authors, publishers and several vibrant personalities relevant to the occasion.

The festival will feature many aspects of books and reading. There will be:

• Reading sessions, featuring famous writers and their works
• Creative writing sessions with well known creative writers
• A session of poetry reading and ‘Writing Poems’
• Introduction to writing book reviews
• Writing competitions for different age groups
• A story writing session in which members of the audience will themselves ‘write’ the story by advancing it to its conclusion [Each writer will get a copy of the story].
• Book Fair
• Puppet shows based on popular characters from books
• Children’s theatre based on children’s plays
• The Children Literature Festival will be accompanying Children's Book Fair with authors around to sign their books.