Emirates Literature Foundation And The Ministry Of Tolerance Join Forces To Launch Children’s Picture Books On The Theme Of Tolerance

The Emirates Literature Foundation and the Ministry of Tolerance today announced the culmination of a joint project leading to Emirati authors and illustrators producing a series of thirty, beautiful children’s stories on the theme of tolerance in both Arabic and English.

The books are being launched at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on 8 February, 2020, at the InterContinental, Festival City, with a keynote address by HE Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Member of the Supreme Committee of Tolerance.

With the invaluable support of the Ministry of Tolerance, the project began with a series of writing and illustration workshops organized by the Emirates Literature Foundation. The books produced celebrate both the craft and the message of tolerance.

“These books clearly show the authors’ creativity, imagination, loyalty to their country and their commitment to make a positive difference. I admire their passion, their talent and the high quality of their works. I wish them great success in the future,” said HE Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan.

The Tolerance Children’s Picture Book project continues the work of the Emirates Literature Foundation in developing and nurturing Emirati writers, poets and illustrators.

“We are indebted to the Ministry of Tolerance for their generous support for the project and we are very proud of our new writers who have achieved their dream of seeing their work in print. The level of creativity is very encouraging and we see a bright future for Emirati literature,” said Isobel Abulhoul OBE, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation.

The writers and their illustrator counterparts took the theme of tolerance and interpreted it in a myriad of ways; from drawing on folklore in the form of djinn to the rise of the modern country that is the UAE; and to the effects of materialism on friendships. Each book explores the forces that challenge tolerance and provides subtle solutions to overcoming these challenges.

The books will be distributed to libraries, schools and cultural centres across the UAE and internationally as part of a new Foundation initiative.

More information about the Emirates Literature  Foundation can be found online and year-round news of #EmiratesLitFest on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.