UAEBBY to sponsor 2015 edition of ICBD

The U.A.E. Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) has been selected to be the international sponsor of the 2015 edition of International Children's Book Day (ICBD), an annual celebration that aims to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books. Work on the diverse range of activities and events being planned for ICBD 2015 are already underway. In addition to selecting the theme for ICDB 2015, the UAEBBY is also tasked with inviting a U.A.E. author to write a message to the children of the world and producing the official ICBD poster, which will be used to promote International Children's Book Day across the globe. Commencing its preparations for ICBD, the UAEBBY have organised a five-day poster design workshop, being held on the side lines of the Sharjah International Book Fair. Taking place until 14th of November at Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba, the workshop was presented by celebrated graphic artist Rafael Lopez, whose 2008 poster, Voz Unida, was selected by the Obama/Biden campaign as an official poster at Artists for Obama and whose children's books have won 2 Americas Awards and a Pura Belpre Honour. Speaking about UAEBBY's sponsorship of ICBD during her visit to the workshop, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, UAEBBY Patron and Founder and CEO of Kalimat Publishing House, said, "Each year a different national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) is given the opportunity to sponsor International Children's Book Day, and the UAEBBY is very proud to have been awarded the honour of sponsoring the 2015 celebrations. International Children's Book Day is an opportunity for us not to only celebrate the wonder of reading, but also to reach out and impress the importance of reading within the community at large and we are looking forward to share our message and our love of books with the people of the U.A.E., the region, and the world." The workshop will not only give aspiring and established illustrators the opportunity to work with the award-winning Rafael Lopez, but also the chance to see their work used by the IBBY in its international campaigns, as the best poster will be selected to be the official 2015 International Children's Book Day poster. The workshop also marks the start of the UAEBBY's ?Warsha - Etisalat Award Workshop for Children's Books' - a groundbreaking initiative by the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children's Literature that aims to find and nurture a new generation of talented Arab authors, illustrators and publishers of Arabic children's books.