Sharjah24: The Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) in Sharjah has successfully concluded its participation in the 15th edition of the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival. The festival was held over 12 days from May 1-12 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, under the theme "Once Upon A Hero". The council's pavilion hosted all the departments under its umbrella, including the Family Development Department and its branches, the Cultural Office, the Health Promotion Department, and the Child Safety Department.

The council's participation featured 71 innovative workshops that attracted 5,068 visitors, targeting a diverse group of parents, adolescents, and children, totaling 2,666 individuals, and were delivered by 48 specialists in family and child care. Noteworthy workshops included "Journey with a Book," an interactive reading workshop aimed at enhancing reading and concentration skills for children aged 7-10 years, and "Stories and Six Paintings," which focused on fostering a love of reading among children through distributing six painted panels of a story scene, allowing children to sequence the story events and then colour the panels. 

Other notable workshops were "Superhero Narrative," tailored for children aged 4-13 years to teach them how to write their personal stories about superheroes, enhancing their creative writing skills, and the "Healthy Dish" workshop, which was held over several days to raise awareness among children and parents about the importance of healthy eating, reflecting the council's commitment to promoting healthy lifestyle habits.

The activities organised by the council during the festival provided a real-life fun experience for children through a variety of interactive activities such as a physical game   to introduce the most important health standards in the school environment as part of the Healthy Schools Programme and the "Interactive Wall of the Child Safety," along with the "Good and Bad Secrets" board aimed at educating children on how to protect themselves from abuse and avoid stranger danger.

The session "The Role of Parents in the Child's Reading World," dedicated to parents, aimed to empower them to discover effective strategies to instil a culture of reading in their children, highlighting the importance of the parental role and involvement in children's education.

The council's participation in the festival is part of its ongoing efforts to create renewed opportunities and continue leading and excelling in the journey of family development and advancement in all social, cultural, and health aspects.