Sharjah24: The Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, which is overseen by the UAE Board on Books for Young People and sponsored by E&Emirates, recently organised a training workshop on children’s poetry in various locations across the Emirate of Sharjah. The workshop was presented by the Iraqi writer and poet Jalil Khazal.

The workshop focused on the poetry category of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature in its fifteenth session in 2023. This specific category is updated every two years. It will continue in the current session of 2024, and the winners will be recognized during the honoring ceremony at the Sharjah International Book Fair.

The primary aim of the workshop was to provide a comprehensive understanding of writing poetry for children and how to create a poetry book suitable for young readers.

Marwa Obaid Al Aqroubi, President of the UAE Council on Books for Young People, emphasized that the purpose of the award is not only to honor creative publishers, authors, and illustrators but also to elevate the standard of published works for children and young adults. The award also seeks to showcase the diverse aspects of Arabic children’s literature by focusing on a changing category every two years. This approach continually attracts new participants and contributes to enriching the availability of high-quality publications for the Arab child library.

Al Aqroubi highlighted the "Warsha" program, launched in 2013, which has significantly advanced children’s books in the Arab world by nurturing Arab talents to produce high-quality books rooted in Arab culture. This initiative aims to enable these books to compete effectively with foreign literature, aligning with the United Arab Emirates' vision to enrich the children’s book industry in the Arab world.

The workshop comprised six sessions spread over three days. The first day provided a historical overview of the development of children’s poetry in the Arab world and explored various types of children’s poems. The second day focused on the techniques of poetic writing, common challenges, and typical mistakes made by poets. Additionally, it covered the essence of children’s poetry, particularly sung poems, and the essential characteristics of a good poem. The final day concluded with hands-on training on publishing a poetry collection for children and teaching poetry.

The workshop participants expressed their satisfaction with the training program, which enabled them to enhance and refine their skills in the field of children’s poetry. This training made their work more professional and align with literary and linguistic standards, equipping them to produce poetry books with engaging content that is appealing to children and adolescents. Additionally, it empowered them to compete for literary awards in children's poetry.