The challenge is to amaze the child with what is different

Magdy El Kafrawy: Today's child is lucky in the abundance of technology

Al-Kafrawi: What fascinates the child so much is that he does not make an effort.

Photography: Ashok Verma

The Egyptian plastic artist and publisher Magdy El Kafrawy said that today's child is different from yesterday's child, as he described him as lucky because of the various media available to him that enable him to obtain distinct visual content that previous generations did not have. In an interview with "Emirates Today" on the sidelines of his participation in the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival, Al-Kafrawi considered that the child is exposed to a lot of dazzle by the various media with which he comes into contact on a daily basis, and for this he must be attracted to the world of books and stories through distinguished images that make him interact with her.

Al-Kafrawi talked about the way in which the child can be attracted to books and pictures, pointing out that what should be presented to a child today from books should be more impressive than what is presented through other media so that the book can take priority in the child, but this will not happen at all. Because what is presented to the child through books is two-dimensional drawings, and this cannot be very attractive in light of the games and three-dimensional and four-dimensional images that are available to him. Here the painter faces the difficulty of how to amaze the child through what is different.

Al-Kafrawi continued that what should be taken care of by the painter who paints for the child, is to raise questions and ideas for him and provide different visual indications, considering that every development in technology comes at the expense of the soul, as the painting that is painted by the hand of an artist, which often has potential errors, can reach the soul. And enjoying it more than things designed through digital, because the latter emits a metallic spirit, and the child cannot live with it for a long time, and therefore the intensity of the visual dazzle can be through arousing his curiosity only.

The Egyptian plastic artist and publisher considered interactive graphics important in certain age stages, but what really fascinates the child so much is what makes him not make an effort, as everything that is presented to him from the technological world today allows him to sit on the device and only touch for browsing or playing.

Regarding the challenges he faces in the field of publishing, as a publisher, he pointed out that publishing problems and what he suffers from are related to Arab libraries, as the majority of what is found in Arab libraries is translated, but without modifying it in a way that suits the children of Arab societies and their environments. Books are sufficient and appropriate in all Arab societies. As for the books that are directed to people of determination, Kafrawi pointed out that they are no longer directly related to the blind, but there are many modern technologies, and there are books that take into account learning difficulties, and with several techniques in order to provide the child with an appropriate reading experience.

And whether the book is still being sold in light of the developments in the world of the child, Kafrawi pointed out that the biggest problem with the issue of buying books lies in the fact that it is a process that is made through parents, as the choices are made by adults who believe that they decide what children like. Therefore, it is necessary to allow the child to choose what he wants, and then learn from his wrong choices.

He stressed that his work in publishing mainly carries educational and educational goals that seek to correct errors in children's books.

Biography

Magdy Kafrawy is a plastic artist, publisher, illustrator and journalist, and a member of a number of institutions and associations concerned with culture and arts, including the Syndicate of Fine Artists, the Cairo Atelier of Writers and Artists, and the Fine Arts Lovers Association.

He participated in many international group exhibitions, including a cultural exchange exhibition in Kuwait, the Gabrovo Biennale in Bulgaria, and a cultural exchange exhibition in Malawi, and he is the founder of a publishing house.

He founded with his wife, a specialist in children's literature, Amal Farah, Dar "Shagara" to publish, print and distribute children's books.

He also won the award for best painter from the Arab Thought Foundation for the book “Memoirs of a Girl” in 2017.

• The child should be left to choose what he wants...to learn from his wrong choices.

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