Juliah: Fest can stir interest of kids in literature
Published on: Thursday, April 25, 2024
Juliah with kindergarten children in the Book Reading Session (storytelling) at the closing ceremony of the Children’s Literature Festival and Let’s Read Programme 2024 at the State Library.
Kota Kinabalu: The Children’s Literature Festival can cultivate children’s interest in reading literature as an aesthetic medium for conveying messages, said the Sabah Chief Minister’s wife, Datin Seri Datuk Juliah Salag.
She said this festival could foster unity within the community while also promoting reading, especially among children and teenagers, through activities like writing, reading and storytelling.
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Juliah said the use of literature is declining nowadays, following the current trend of quick, simple and easy access to various information.
She said in the past, metaphors and rhymes were commonly used in everyday conversations, reflecting a society known for its politeness and preference for subtle communication to convey implied meanings.
Juliah said the importance of familiarising children with the use of literature and nurturing it as a cultural practice from childhood to ensure its continued use as they grow older.
The festival should hold various activities that give children the opportunity to learn literature and cultivate creativity, including the writing of chain stories, the launch of children’s books, storytelling sessions and recitation of children’s poems.
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“All these efforts need to be applied in children’s lives so they know folk stories of the past, which are now disappearing in their lives.
“There are various benefits of literature in the development of children, among which is an increase in language skills, cognitive skills, simulation of imagination and creativity,” she said, when closing of the Children’s Literature Festival and Jom Baca Program 2024 at the State Library, Tanjung Aru Branch, on Tuesday.
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Juliah said the festival occurs every two years, and this year marks the inaugural organisation of the event by the State Library.
Regarding the 2024 Jom Baca programme, themed “Reading Preserves Unity” she said it is an annual initiative aimed at ingraining the habit of reading into the society’s culture.
Also present were the wives of Deputy Chief Ministers, Datin Seri Panglima Cecilia Edwin Kitingan and Datin Seri Panglima Linda Ewit, the wife of the State Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, Datin Hajah Lenny Natasha Tan Sri Musa, State Library Director, Puan Hajah Fatimah Abdillah; members of the Consensus Organisation of Wives of Representatives’ Charitable Trusts (Mutiara GRS) and students.
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