One hundred writers can influence 1,000 people. With this belief the Let’s Make a Book initiative is working on teaching children and teenagers how to tell their own tales, and turn them into books.
“We take a small number of children and we teach them all the necessary tools for becoming writers . This is a concentrated effort to change society through this new generation of writers, John Ehab, project director said.
Let’s Make a Book is a workshop designed to train young participants to create their own stories and develop their ideas on paper. Professional trainers will introduce children and teenagers to the methods and techniques required to write and publish a book. The project was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, August 12 at El-Sawy Culture Wheel.
The initiative taps into what can be called a cultural revolution, which is seeing more and more large-scale bookshops and the increasing popularity of cultural events, ranging from poetry readings to screenings of independent film productions to rock concerts.
The Let’s Make a Book initiative was created to involve the younger generation in this phenomenon,
“Our vision is to work with children and young people to stimulate their creativity and critical awareness to create a new generation of writers, Ehab said.
The initiative currently works under other NGOs and institutions, such as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and will do so until it gathers sufficient resources to officially become an NGO, he explained.
Let’s Make a Book is currently convening in four locations in Egypt. Three in Cairo: Heliopolis branch of Diwan Bookstore, El Sawy Culture Wheel and Jesuits’ Nahda Association for Scientific and Cultural Renaissance; and one in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
The program, which started on June 20, includes 16 workshops; each is three hours long. In the first phase of the workshop, the instructors work on the participants’ creative and comprehension skills. This includes book analysis and teaching the participants how to express their thoughts and emotions. During the second phase, each participant will start writing their own book.
There are currently two programs, one for children aged eight to 12 and another for teenagers from ages 13 to 18.
At the end, Nahdet Misr, a local publishing house, will publish some of the books produced during the workshops.
“We are going to have three types of books: children’s books – the one with illustrations – short stories and comic books, said Ehab.
Diana Sandor, who has been working on a similar project in Croatia for the past five years, is a consultant with Let’s Make a Book.
“It’s a wonderful project in which children apply everything they learn in school, their values, their grammar and writing skills, everything, she said.
“The process teaches them how to express themselves with words, makes them know more vocabulary and the richness of the language, it’s a refinement of the culture, she added.
Going to a bookshop and finding books written by seven-year-old children should be a unique and enriching experience for readers, Sandor said.”These books are different and adults will definitely benefit from the purity and clarity of the children’s thoughts, she added.
She also pointed out that “through this project we support human culture and get them away from the consumerism and materialism of today’s world.
There are no registration fees for the Let’s Make a Book workshops, and this is meant to “show the children that we are not doing it in exchange for anything materialistic, Ehab explained.
There are three main sources for the project’s funding: sponsors, funding agencies and donations. However, sponsors were selected based on strict criteria: “For example they can’t have a junk food restaurant as their sponsor because it contradicts their values, said Ehab.
Funding goes mainly into the publishing of the books and the instructors’ fee, who still work on a voluntary basis.
“I’m amazed that such a project is taking place in Egypt, my grandson and daughter now are eager and prefer going to the library to read, the grandmother of one of the participants said.
“The project encourages them to use their imagination and bring everyday stories to life, added another parent.
The young participants described how the workshops taught them a variety of concepts and skills such as sentence structure, painting and drawing. The extra work made their summer vacation useful and the workshops were a great way to make new friends.
“The program is giving us an opportunity to use our imagination and even publish our own books, which is an amazing experience, said Aya, a participant.
Quoting Albert Einstein, Sandor said, “If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories. If you want your children to be really smart, tell them more stories. If you want your children to be brilliant, tell them even more stories.
In Ramadan, a number of story-telling sessions will be organized, presenting the final outcome of the project.
For more information, check the Facebook group “Let’s Make a Book. s
