Spotlight on “Kan Yama Kan” and children’s empowerment
The session witnessed a large turnout of experts and Arab researchers who followed a comprehensive presentation on the “Kan Yama Kan” project and its role in empowering children with books in areas affected by conflict, displacement, and disasters. The presentation offered new insight into reading as a fundamental right and a tool that goes beyond paper to build children’s psychological and cognitive resilience, aligning with the conference’s themes of digital inclusion, knowledge equity, and the role of modern libraries in achieving them.
Introduction to the UAE Board on Books for Young People
Al Aqroubi began her presentation by introducing the UAE Board on Books for Young People and its role in supporting the Arab children’s book industry, noting that the Board’s humanitarian initiatives stem from a firm conviction that knowledge is a shared right, not a privilege tied to location or circumstance. She provided an overview of the “Kan Yama Kan” initiative, launched to provide high-quality books to children deprived of access to knowledge due to war, displacement, or difficult social conditions.
Philosophy beyond book distribution
Al Aqroubi stressed that the initiative’s philosophy goes beyond distributing books; it focuses on building a safe relationship between children and reading, enabling them to find an alternative space for learning, imagination, and reassurance—core values in environments suffering from digital and knowledge marginalisation, and reflective of the conference’s focus on digital justice. She highlighted the establishment of “The Big Heart Library” at the UAE–Jordan refugee camp in 2014, which served as a safe reading platform that helped build a small knowledge community in a turbulent environment.
Key achievements and therapeutic reading experience
Al Aqroubi discussed the initiative’s early success in collecting over 3,000 books, in addition to hundreds donated later by institutions and individuals in the UAE. She also spoke about the therapeutic reading experience delivered through 44 hours of training for children, which led to qualifying the first Emirati team specialising in this field. She presented the Arabic guide issued by the Board, comprising 365 titles addressing more than 40 psychological and social issues, describing these efforts as a practical model for integrating knowledge-based solutions with humanitarian needs and combating cultural and linguistic disparities in affected environments.
Importance of silent books and multilingual settings
Al Aqroubi highlighted the importance of silent books in multilingual environments, noting that the Board hosted the International Silent Book Exhibition several times to showcase the ability of such books to transcend language barriers and offer visual content that helps children express emotions and understand their surroundings. She also reviewed the initiative’s efforts in collecting 50,000 books through donation boxes in public libraries and House of Wisdom in Sharjah, and distributing more than 17,500 books in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, India, Greece, and other regions. She referenced field visits to Egypt, India, and Morocco, and support for damaged libraries in Beirut following the 2020 port explosion.
Expanding the Initiative’s global reach
Al Aqroubi concluded by affirming that “Kan Yama Kan” goes beyond delivering books; it works to embed culture as a sustainable empowerment tool for new generations. She pointed to documenting the initiative’s humanitarian journey through a series of videos highlighting the impact of reading on children’s lives, and its expansion in 2023 to support Arab communities in South Korea. She stressed that although the initiative focuses on printed books, it closely intersects with the principles of digital justice by ensuring every child’s right to equitable access to knowledge and supporting the conference’s goals of bridging linguistic and cultural divides.
Conference focus on digital partnership and regional content
The conference focused on strengthening regional partnerships to develop Arabic digital content capable of meeting community needs, addressing the digital divide linked to language and culture, and building Arab capabilities to produce content and develop artificial intelligence applications that reflect the region’s cultural identity. Through “Kan Yama Kan,” a pioneering Emirati model emerges, affirming that digital justice begins with facilitating access to knowledge, and that the book remains the most influential starting point for building generations capable of engaging consciously with a rapidly evolving digital world.
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