الهيئة العالمية لكتب الأطفال / فرع الكويت KUBBY

The Kuwait Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (KUBBY) was founded in 1993. Under the umbrella of the Kuwait Society for the Advancement of Arab Children, KUBBY has become a recognized advocate for bringing children and books together and an exponent of the value of reading. The Society is a non-profit and non-governmental organization developed to improve the lives of Arab children. KUBBY’s mission is to improve the quality of children’s books by encouraging quality writing and illustrating for children.

Liaison Officer

Mr Hassan Al-Ebraheem

(address of the section)

Ms Zahra A. Hussein Ali

(address of the section)

Ms. Mae Al Hajjaj

(address of the section)

Dr. Ali Al-Jafar

(address of the section)

Dr. Balkees Al Najjar

(address of the section)
 

Ms. Kamla Al Ayad

(address of the section)

The goals of KUBBY are:

• to increase awareness to the importance of reading for children in Kuwait
• to raise public awareness of the importance and role of children’s literature
• to promote quality children’s literature and culture
• to encourage and motivate creative writers to contribute to children's literature
• to encourage and activate research in the field of children’s literature
• to cooperate with institution and media channels on educational activities and projects addressed to children

Members of KUBBY cover the spectrum of the cultural and educational fields. Members include university professors, educators, librarians, journalists, teachers, authors and artists. To fulfill its mission and to meet its goals, KUBBY has organized many activities. Most prominent among these activities has been the production of a children’s play titled Jahlouk’s Keys. The play ran for four weeks, was seen by more than 7000 children, and is annually aired on Kuwait Television. Written by one of KUBBY’s members, the play was a tribute to the positive power of reading on the human mind and spirit.

In addition, KUBBY held a national photography contest which portrayed children engaged in the activity of reading. The photographs pictured children reading books in different locations and settings. The aim of the project was to provide children with an opportunity to see their produced photos in a calendar that was distributed throughout the country.

KUBBY has also sponsored a number of workshops and conferences including the Special Libraries Association/Arabian Gulf Chapter Conference 2004. In addition, KUBBY has hosted many speakers including Mona Henning and Jane Kurtz, well-known authors of children’s stories in English and Arabic. KUBBY has also actively worked with the National Council for Letters, Arts and Literature and has participated in the Kuwait Book Fair.