RIYADH: A volunteer team has been assisting young children who visit the Riyadh International Book Fair, which was inaugurated last Wednesday in the Saudi capital and ends next Saturday.
Called “Once Upon a Time,” the team comprises young and enthusiastic members who help children have a meaningful experience while visiting the book fair.
“The bottom line is to help them develop their skills in various ways such as in expressing themselves. We help them gain self-confidence in asking and answering questions,” said Shahad Al-Ahmari, one of the team members.
As the children show up with their mothers at a predetermined assembly point at the book fair, team members guide them around the exhibition area where they meet other children and older people for the first time.
“They know how to carry themselves and react because we have earlier taught them things they should know if and when that happens,” Al-Ahmari said.
She added that “while we help and guide them, we also assess how they interact with young and old people alike, and what kind of books they want to read that can help them gain self-confidence.”
She added that they also determine the tendencies as well as preference of every child regarding reading which serves a larger project the team adopted.
This larger project is titled ‘Simply the Values of the Young’, in connection with the book fair, which was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information, she said
The book fair is held under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
Members of the group hold weekly meetings regarding their activities and say that they hope to have members all over the Kingdom.