Children’s Festival

Literary beginnings Children’s Festival starts tomorrow
LAHORE: More than 50 speakers and authors, including a few from India, will participate in the two-day Children’s Literature Festival, scheduled to begin on November 25.
The festival will be held at Children’s Library Complex and is being held in collaboration the Foundation Open Society Institute, US Consulate Genral and the British Council.

Ameena Saiyid of the Oxford University Press said, during a press conference, that the event promised two days of fun filled learning for children.
Saiyid said that the festival will also include sessions for adults as well.
Dr Arifa Syeda, and the ambassadors of the Children’s Literature Festival including Nadia Jamil and Adeel Hashmi were also present at the press conference. Dr Syeda narrated a few Urdu stories for the children present at the press conference.
Hashmi called the festival “the first step towards inculcating the habit of reading in children”. Jamil, Hashmi and Sania Saeed will judge a dramatic reading competition during the festival.


Kamini Masood, a grade 10 student at the Lahore Grammar School and the festival’s young ambassador, said that she hoped that the event will help children in improving their expression.
Baela Raza Jamil of the Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi said that the chief minister, who is expected to inaugurate the festival, will also read to the children.
The Children’s Literature Festival will go on for two days from 10 am to 5 pm at the Children’s Library Complex.
There will be a book fair, live puppet shows, story telling, creative writing, poetry recitals and other interactive activities for children.
Dr Marilyn Wyatt, the wife of US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, is expected to read from Tom Sawyer on the first day of the festival while Nigar Nazar will draw cartoons for the children.
A play Jungle Jungle Zindabad, about preserving the environment, and a musical narrative, conducted by Ali Noor and Ali Hamza of Noori band in collaboration with Valerie Kaul, a teacher at the Lahore American School, will also be performed.
Express Tribune, November 24th, 2011.


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Children Day Today

KARACHI:21 Nov: Nutrition, education, better healthcare and improved environment are the basic rights of children, said Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA) general secretary Prof Dr Zareen Fasih.

“It is very important to treat our future generation with respect and provide them equal opportunities to explore new horizons,” she said while addressing a press conference on Sunday at the Karachi Press Club in connection with the Universal Children’s Day.

She said statistics revealed that 18 to 20 percent children died of pneumonia, seven percent children had to face psychological negligence at their homes and 11 percent children in the world were medically neglected.

She informed: “About 48 percent of our population comprised children and we have to brig up our future in better way.”

PPA Sindh vice president Dr Mushtaq Memon emphasised on parents, teachers, lawyers and organisations for making combined efforts for the rights of children. He emphasised media to play its due role to raise awareness among people.

Memon revealed that they could not free Pakistan from polio yet, so we should work for the children’s welfare without any discrimination. He said that healthy child is a symbol of healthy nation.

Dr Khalid Zubairi said Pakistan is a signatory of the United Nation Children Right Convention (CRC) and as per the convention every child had equal right of living, health, nutrition, education and freedom of expression.

He said it was their duty to take care of their children and provide them all the necessary facilities. He suggested mothers to provide their children their own milk at least for six months so that the children could develop immunity against diseases. He advised mothers to provide their children pure water and prevent them from domestic accidents.

He emphasised parents to listen to their children and suggested teachers not to give physical or psychological punishment to children.Daily Times.