IBBY-Yamada 2020: Lebanon

IBBY Lebanon: Reading promotion for children with special needs

During story reading time or library reading time, children with special needs are often excluded with the argument that these children do not enjoy the story, they disturb other children or cannot concentrate. Teachers and often parents underestimate the importance of books and stories in the lives of children with special needs, and consequently lack the techniques to successfully present the books. A series of workshops were planned to: educate teachers and parents as to the importance of stories for children with special needs; teach the skills of reading books to these children; and encourage the teachers and parents to advocate for the right of every child to read. The in-person workshops were transferred to a conference of a series of five four-hour online sessions over five consecutive days in August 2020. The conference, presented in Arabic, was hosted on Zoom by the organisation of the Psychologists Center. There were nine trainers and almost 1000 participants registered.

Read the project report here.