Sharjah :
The Child Safety Department, an affiliate of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in
Sharjah, is raising awareness and equipping visitors at the 41st Sharjah International Book
Fair (SIBF) with the knowledge and skills required to preserve the safety of children and
teenagers through a series of activities hosted at the annual fair that runs at Expo Centre
Sharjah until November 13.
As part of its commitment to raise child safety awareness amongst the multicultural SIBF
audience, CSD is organizing a daily session entitled ‘My Safety Lake’ that emphasizes the
need for children, youth and their parents to make safe decisions when swimming, in a
moving vehicle, in public spaces and playgrounds, and ways to avoid potential hazards both
in the home and outside.
Through questions that seek to understand a child’s skills and safety awareness and guide
them on ways to avoid preventable injuries or the right steps to take on seeing a peer or
adult who is drowning, ‘My Safety Lake is enriching both the knowledge and practical life
skills of children, youth and their parents at SIBF 2022.
CSD is addressing a wide spectrum of safety concerns and instilling awareness of safety
rules in children’s minds by introducing participants to safe ways of avoiding hazards and
protecting themselves both in and outside the home. The ‘My Safety Lake’ session also
imparts strategies to safeguard themselves against bullying, cyberthreats, and other forms of
negligence, harm and exploitation.
Held five times throughout the day for 30 minutes each, ‘My Safety Lake’ competition is an
interactive and engaging activity where children and youth pick a card with a safety-related
question and attempt to answer it. In the process, participants enrich their safety knowledge
and learn about various ongoing awareness campaigns being conducted by CSD.
The competition also encourages children to memorize important emergency numbers,
guides them on safety rules in and around water bodies, and reinforces the importance of
adhering to safe habits at all times.
The competition is also introducing youth to age-appropriate concerns in the society
including bullying and cybersecurity, and enriching them with guidance on the right actions to
follow. Participants can also share their own opinions and experiences directly with the
officials of the Child Safety Department at SIBF 2022.
The Child Safety awards instant prizes for children and youth who answer the most number
of questions correctly. The prizes include dolls with the slogan of CSD’s annual awareness
campaign ‘Safety First’, in addition to illustrated books and stories with coloring activities.