The Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH), (Wednesday) launched the first interactive workshop of the 21st Sharjah International Narrator Forum (SINF) at the headquarters of the Centre of International Organizations for Cultural Heritage at University City, Sharjah.

The workshop, which targets children aged 12 years and above, will include several sessions, including “Introduction to Character Design’ which will be presented on the first day and will commence next Saturday. The second session focuses on designing characters and drawing animal stories, while the final session will feature the creative works produced in the earlier workshops.

Two fruitful decades of Sharjah International Narrator Forum

His Excellency Dr Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, Chairman of SIH and the Supreme Organizing Committee of the SINF said: “The Kalila and Dimna character design workshop will be an important feature of this year’s edition of the forum, especially since the whole month of September will be dedicated to character design. The 21st edition of SINF will be different from its past versions, since our session will extend throughout all of September, which is the new format that we have adopted after two fruitful and productive decades of organising the event, which has achieved its position as the premiere event for storytelling and literature in general.

His Excellency added: “In this year’s edition, we have important personalities coming from research and the various types of arts, such artist Omar Al-Rawi as well as exciting events, programs and activities aimed at children. There will be significant changes which will build on the accumulated experiences and knowledge that the forum has gained over the past two decades.”

He pointed out that the presenter of the workshop, Ahmed Manar Al-Lahham, who is renowned for his skills and the information he provides, will help the participating children as they try to draw the characters of Kalila and Dimna. And although the characters are drawn from a well-known Indian book, the translation by Abdullah bin Al-Muqaffa has become an acclaimed Arab literary piece. Dr Al Musallam expressed his thanks to Professor Al-Lahham and said he will have a positive impact on the participants of the workshop.

A balance of cultural experience and drawing skills

For her part, Aisha Al-Hussan Al Shamsi, Director of the Arab Heritage Centre of the Institute and General Coordinator of the Forum, said: “The first interactive workshop will enable the children to learn important skills on how to draw characters, and will eventually be given the opportunity to create their own versions of popular literary characters such Kalila and Dimna.”

She pointed out that the interactive workshops will last for 15 days and will be conducted in the institute’s headquarters as well as its branches. They will give the participants a great experience and provide them a balance of cultural knowledge and drawing skills.

Interesting and lively interactions

In turn, the presenter of the workshop, Ahmed Manar Al-Lahham, said: “We tried with the children a new method of drawing using geometric shapes and then drawing on them. We had interesting and lively interactions as children tried drawing and sharing ideas amongst themselves. It was great seeing them work as a team.”

Kalila and Dimna

Kalila wa Dimna is a book that features a collection of stories and was translated into Arabic by Abdullah bin al-Muqaffa in the Abbasid era, in the second century AH (eighth century AD), and formulated in his literary style based on the original book. It has five chapters, in Sanskrit, and the introduction mentions that the Indian philosopher and sage Bidba, worked on writing the book for the King of India, Dibashlim, using animals and birds as the main characters creatively disguised as human figures. The stories include several topics, most notably the relationship between the ruler and his subjects, in addition to a number of important teachings and sermons.