Festival aims to provide learning experience to children.

Byline: Syeda Shehrbano Kazim

ISLAMABAD -- A two-day Children's Literature Festival (CLF) started amid great fanfare at Lok Virsa with numerous interactive sessions, activities, workshops and book launches. Students from government and private schools came to enjoy day of learning and celebrating literature in various forms.

CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and CLF founder Baela Raza Jamil spoke about the magic of the Children's Literature Festival, saying, 'This festival is truly magical; In a CLF in Multan, a teacher told us that I rushed to bring the children from my school because they learn in one day what they don't in 365.

'A few days ago in a school in Muzzafargarh, I was talking to the children about superheroes and a young boy said that he was a superhero because he was interested in software and had invented a game which was a hit.'

She added: 'The CLF starts with children and will end with them after two days. Children will learn to write stories, listen to stories and to tell stories but there are also workshops on heritage, theatre and critical thinking.'

Students performed the CLF anthem, Humein Kitab Chahiye (We want books), written by Zehra Nigah and composed by Rakae Jamil.

Komal Batool, a student of grade 9, and subject of a documentary on girls' education, 'A Dream Reignited' shared her journey and how a scholarship made it possible for her to study after her mother passed away.

Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood was the chief guest at the event.

Congratulating the festival's founders he said: 'We must see how to adapt to the changing modes of transmission of knowledge and see what the role of books and the role of other mediums will be.'

With the formal launch conducted, the festival began with a March for Climate Justice and Right to Education.

A session titled 'Cinema Ghar' created awareness on a range of subjects as diverse as child marriage, bonded labour, Edhi, Kulsoom Hazara, self-defence, climate change and legal age by screening short animated movies and films by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy Films.

Shahmeen Khattak, a Teach for Pakistan fellow, said: 'Just the fact that all the videos were in Urdu was a good thing because most of the children who attended the session are from government schools. They are not fluent in understanding English content, so the graphics and the use of Urdu was very good.

'The videos were also visually appealing, and the children were engaged with...