This morning, Saturday, September 30, 2023, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University, opened the first scientific forum for children’s literature, organized by the Department of English Language and Literature, entitled: “Children’s Literature in Egypt… Innovations and Challenges.”

This is under the patronage of Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, under the supervision of Prof. Mohamed Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, and coordinated by Prof. Eman El-Bakry, Head of the English Department, Dr. Enas El-Ebrashy and Dr. Nardeen Nabil Al-Atrouzi.

In her speech at the opening of the forum, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the College, welcomed the guests, headed by Prof. Nadia El-Khouly, Head of the English Language Department at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, and all attendees, including faculty members in the department, the supporting staff, and all experts in English literature and language at the level of Egyptian universities who were present at the forum, with appreciation. Due to the importance of holding this forum and the call to hold it on an annual basis, on a regional and international scale, she also praised the English Department, which is one of the leading departments in the college that contributes to building a graduate with a high level of excellence and who has distinguished professors at all levels. She also praised the idea of the conference that supports and discusses Children’s literature, preserving Egyptian identity, and the importance of taking pride in our Arabic language, which is the language of the Holy Quran, in addition to transferring our ideas, culture, and identity to other languages in order to enhance cultural exchange and learn about other cultures.

She stressed that we are awaiting the recommendations of the forum, which we hope will contribute to advancing the field of scientific research in children’s literature in Egypt and the Arab world.

Prof. Dr. Hanan Kamel also stressed the need to pay attention to developing children’s books and educational curricula in a way that suits the requirements of the times and technology, including glimpses of heritage and history, to create a generation that is proud of its country’s history and heritage and is contemporary with its present, which is developing moment by moment.

For his part, in his speech, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim stressed that the forum is a promising beginning for the Department of English Language with the beginning of the academic year 2023/2024, in preparing for a distinguished forum with elegant preparation and organization. He pointed out the importance of holding the forum on an annual basis, given the importance of children’s literature in The study was designed to develop the content presented about children and children. He also praised some of the topics of the forum that focused on shedding light on the personality and writings of the pioneer of children’s literature, Kamel Kilani, who was born in 1897 and died in 1959. He had a great influence on enriching the Arab library, children’s libraries, and the school library, as he published in all He wrote one or two books a week, and the prince of poets, Ahmed Shawqi, called him “the second hand.”

The forum will discuss (20) research papers on children’s literature, including: The research paper presented by Prof. Nadia El-Khouly, former head of the English Department at the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University and president of the Egyptian Council for Children’s Books, entitled: “Children’s Literature between East and West.” Dr. Muhammad Muharram published a research paper entitled: “How to Depict Climate Change in Egyptian Children’s Literature,” as well as the research paper presented by Dr. Nourhan Osama Nabil, entitled: “Speech therapy and modifying children’s behavior through plastic arts.”

Also Dr. Rana Al-Khouly presented “A creative and metaphorical analysis of the use of fairy tales and superheroes in Egyptian television advertisements,”

In addition, Dr. Eman Al-Nohi, presented a paper entitled: “Why do children fall or get lost in the forests? Revealing this mystery in children’s stories.” As for Ms. Ruqaya Ali Hafez, presented a research paper on: “Psychological analysis of the impact of traumatic childhood on the characters of “Stranger Things.” Dr. Sarah Hegazy presented her research paper entitled: "The Egyptianization of Children's Literature"

The department also honored the pioneer of children’s books in Egypt, the writer Abdel Tawab Youssef, and the pioneer of children’s illustrated magazines in Egypt and the Arab world, Antila Rashid, or Mama Lubna, the founder of Samir magazine, and a shield was presented to their daughter. Dr. Lubna Abdel Tawab Youssef, Professor of Literature, Department of English, Cairo University.