Youth Sada and bp Oman conclude the fifth cycle of the Reading Family Programme

In partnership with bp Oman, Youth Sada held a closing ceremony marking the conclusion of the fifth cycle of the Reading Family Programme, held under the patronage of HH Mona Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University and Chairperson of Children First Association. The programme aimed to promote a reading culture in the Omani community by nurturing children’s skills in reading and developing local youth’s capabilities in delivering literature workshops.

The programme included 10 main activities targeting different governorates across Oman, which includes the ‘Rawafid’ training programme enabling the youth in children literature, the ‘Reading ambassadors’ network’ which aims to enhance the reading skills of 55 children, ‘My child reads’ sessions for mothers on basic skills in communication and enhancing children’s reading skills, “Hakawati” sessions for interactive storytelling, photo-storytelling competitions, the reading family forum, interactive book reading discussion sessions, ‘Story Oasis’ children book fair with 11 libraries participating, Ad’Dhahirah reading competition and educational workshops for schools.
Qais Al Maqrashi, CEO of Youth Sada, said: “TThe Reading Family Programme is an engaging programme that fosters meaningful communication between family members and integrates reading and literature into an interactive and fun learning model. Here at Youth Sada, we always strive to be unique in our programmes to achieve a long-term positive impact on our communities.  In addition, we always work as a team to develop the beneficiaries’ interpersonal and technical skills through continuous learning, working with our current technologies to overcome any challenges and I am proud of what we have achieved so far.”

Ibrahim Al Hinai, Social Investment Manager at bp Oman, Kuwait and Qatar, commented: “Our partnership with Youth Sada started in 2018 to influence a positive change within the community in Ad’Dhahirah region and the Reading Family Programme is one of the key programmes that highlights the importance of literature to children and enhances their skills. It is worth mentioning that over 1400 benefited from this initiative in 2023 including 993 children, 297 male youth, and 139 female youth across Oman.”

Last year, Youth Sada won Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed award for Arabic Language in its sixth edition, for the Reading Family Programme’s contribution among the best initiative that enhances reading literature and develops a learning community.