The World is Speaking One Language at the UAE’s First Silent Book Exhibition

The UAE’s first Silent Books Exhibition, being hosted by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY), has taken children, young adults, authors, illustrators and the everyday enthusiast on a fascinating journey into a world of 54 thought-provoking wordless books that have come from 20 countries around the world.

Showing in Sharjah since 1 August, the exhibition focuses on silent books – on how books without words can still be books and transcend linguistic and cultural barrriers to be enjoyed by people globally.

Visitors to the exhibition are becoming privy to the techniques that go into the creation of silent books, impact of illustrations, and the role visual language plays in conveying semantics, meaning and ideas. For eight weeks until 30 September, the exhibition is hosting informative sessions through which its visitors are gaining unique insights into the importance of a variety of universally relevant messages contained within silent books connecting with its audience, irrespective of the language they speak.  

A host of authors and illustrators are conducting interesting workshops aimed at expanding children’s intellectual capacities, strengthening comprehension while ensuring consistency with the storyline, and telling techniques of the books used for these activities. Additionally, these workshops are helping its young participants understand the important role these silent books have played in bringing home messages of tolerance and harmony.

Titled ‘A Story and a Scene’, the first specialised workshop in the series was conducted by popular Emirati children’s author, Maitha Al Khayat, for 21 kids from the Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation (Tamkeen). In a reading from her own work, The Runaway Louse, Al Khayat ignited much creativity and eagerness among children to play with characters and build their own narratives.

The Exhibition reflects an important aspect of the Emirati cultural fabric, woven to appreciate diversity and promote all forms of knowledge and culture among members of the community.

Commenting on the importance of an event of this nature in the UAE, Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of the UAEBBY, said: “The Silent Book Exhibition is one of IBBY’s most outstanding cultural enterprises; a source of inspiration to publishers and illustrators to create books that have universal appeal. We are proud to bring this exhibition to the UAE and showcase such works that have enabled children living in the direst of circumstances to enjoy stories and share emotional experiences with peers who may not speak their language.”  

“In hosting this exhibition, we reinforce our belief that every individual has the right to enjoy books, and that knowledge and culture are not exclusive to a specific community, place or time. Cultures must be built to promote human empathy and strengthen bonds of affection and kinship among people. In this respect, these books have been invaluable in bringing smiles to faces that need them the most,” Al Aqroubi added.

The origin of this exhibition started as project that introduced silent books to migrants and local children in Lampedusa, Italy. This sprit resonates with the UAEBBY’s Kan Yama Kan initiative that works to enable children in need the opportunity to experience and enjoy high quality books. The exhibition is offering an invaluable opportunity for UAE-based illustrators and publishers to learn how to create and publish silent books. Kan Yama Kan hopes that introducing such creative projects to the UAE will ultimately strengthen their efforts to provide children living amid social unrest, natural disasters and wars access to quality silent books produced locally.

The UAEBBY is the national branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), a non-profit organisation which represents a network of people from across the world who are committed to bringing books and children together. The IBBY seeks to promote international understanding through children's books; to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to reading material with high literary and artistic standards; to provide support and training for authors, illustrators who are interested in children's literature.