SHARJAH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR "43RD SESSION" 60 SECONDS IN SCHS PAVILION
With its own pavilion, Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS) is taking part in the 43rd Sharjah International Book Fair. Visitors can view its latest publications, including the 60 Seconds series “Help Your Child with Early Cognitive Development” and the book “Strategies for Empowering Children, Families and Society to Deal with Stress, Crises and Critical Life Events” by Dr. Talat Mansour, Professor of Mental Health at the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
On this occasion, SCHS Director General Her Excellency Mona Abdul Karim Al Yafei stated that the "60 Seconds Series" is an instructive and enlightening series that SCHS started releasing in 2018. It seeks to educate and increase awareness among society's members. Each issue of the series has at least 20 cards pertaining to the subject matter, and each card has "codes" that link to online video clips for each case.
Since cognitive growth is necessary for positive and flexible interactions with the environment, this year's sixth edition of the series discusses "Helping Your Child with Early Cognitive Development." It involves several processes and abilities, such as attention, perception, discrimination, classification, imitation, and memory, and it both influences and is influenced by other facets of development.
The publication of the book "Strategies for Empowering Children, Families and Society to Deal with Stress, Crises and Critical Life Events," which will also be available as an e-book, is part of SCHS's strategy to produce, disseminate, and exchange knowledge throughout the Arab and national levels.
The book is the most recent in SCHS's extensive library of books and information products that cover a wide range of themes and facets, including psychology, education, disability, and more. It also demonstrates SCHS's concern for the requirements of Arab and Emirati society as well as its knowledge of issues that need more research, analysis, and understanding, such as pressures and crises considering the current humanitarian crisis and the swift changes in the world.
The general director of SCHS has confirmed that this book is not the first successful collaboration with Dr. Talat Mansour. In 2010, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, was published in two parts in Arabic, with revisions made to the text. In addition to scientific cooperation in other areas including conferences and training programs, it was notable for its exquisite and exact translation.
Mrs. Mona said, “In addition to being a useful addition to the Arab scientific library in the humanities, SCHS expects that everyone who reads it will profit from it, as will anybody who wants to address pressures and crises in a way that is both effective and scientific”.
The director of the Al-Wafa School for Capacity Development, Dr. Samia Mohammed Saleh, commended the scientific and practical efforts of SCHS's experts in creating the 60 Seconds series as a fun and understandable way to support young cognitive development by tracking the development of very early cognitive and perceptual skills in children who are monitored starting at two months of age.
This series is significant because it emphasizes cognitive abilities as one of the fundamental tenets of the process of growth and development.
She added, “Through the codes on the cards, parents will be able to access a variety of written passages and online films that teach them how to involve their kids in activities that are appropriate for their age”.
The director of the Al Wafa School for Capacity Development affirmed that the 60-second cards will teach parents how to use cognitive skills in everyday interactions and routine activities at home, providing a great opportunity for the child to practice and grow cognitively.
Continuing participation
As a leading institution that consistently highlights the significance of increasing awareness of the issues facing people with disabilities and forming partnerships with individuals and institutions in society to develop the services it provides to them in accordance with the best international practices, SCHS's participation in the Sharjah International Book Fair is sustainable.
SCHS has been committed to promoting culture and awareness since its founding in 1979. In keeping with its goal of promoting scientific culture and raising knowledge of disability, its risks, and the need to lessen its impacts, it was eager to produce and promote papers and books that focused on disability.
The Used Book Festival, which SCHS has been organizing regularly since 2006 and has dubbed the "Al Warraqeen Used Book Festival" since its eighth session in February 2023, is arguably one of the most obvious signs of SCHS's interest in books and its efforts to encourage and raise awareness among community members to read. It seeks to increase the worth and significance of books, make it easier to purchase them at symbolic prices, foster a volunteer culture among institutions and community members, and generate income in a creative manner that supports ongoing improvements to the reality of services offered to individuals with disabilities and clarifies their legal concerns.
As a continuation and extension of the event, SCHS has been hosting the "Al Warraqeen Used Books Market" on the first Saturday of each month since 2020.
A tremendous number of people are visiting the SCHS pavilion at the 43rd Sharjah International Book Fair to show their appreciation for the scientific books it delivers that are relevant to society and families.