We cannot foster the next generation of innovators unless we give them a safe space to
fail, said a panel of children’s authors at the 14th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
(SCRF 2023). Discussing the development of future innovators, and the means to
identifying and supporting them, the literary figures said that parents, teachers and other
caregivers played a key role in spotting the talents of children, helping develop them
and encouraging them to excel in those fields.
The panel, featuring Timothy Knapman, Buthaina Ahmad Sharif and Amina Al Ruwaimi,
noted that every single child has the potential to be an innovator and fulfill their creative
potential, and it is our duty to help them achieve it to the greatest extent possible. Sharif
said, “When you empower children, you empower the future.”
Al Ruwaimi said that events such as SCRF were a prime way of helping create future
innovators, by exposing them to artists and creatives of all talents in one venue. “This is
how children discover opportunities and recognise that there is a world of possibilities
available to them,” noted Al Ruwaimi. “Other than that, parents, educators and
caregivers must also work actively to remove the fear of failure from youngsters’ minds –
self belief and confidence are key components of innovation and shaping future
innovators, besides innate curiosity and a penchant for discovering their talents and
what it is that they do best. No one can succeed if they fear failure so much that it
prevents them from putting their ideas into effect.”
Since the children of today live in an ever-changing changing world “where we now
have young generations who have grown up with technology, they need to take all
those influences they get through social media, AI etc and push back”, said Knapman.
“Creating future innovators is also about giving them the courage. And then, to fail, and
often fail spectacularly. You can’t create or develop your ideas unless you’re in a safe
space to fail”.
One of the best ways to empower children in this regard is through books, the authors
said. “To develop the empowered mindset, for instance, one of my books is about a
fairytale princess who does not wait to be rescued, unlike the traditional heroine. To be
a future innovator, it’s all about taking on the onus and also not fitting into society’s
expectations or boxes, and to swim against the current if necessary,” said Knapman.
On a practical, day-to-day level, Sharif said that we must explore the right times and
venues to encourage children’s creative talents and innovative tendencies. “Summer
vacations could be one of them, a time filled with non-school-related activities that
caters to their specific interests and made available to them in a non-structured or
scheduled manner can really engage children and help unleash their innovative side,”
Sharif said. “Give them the opportunities without the pressure. The imagination is the
place where they can play, and help frame it into ideas and solutions for the future.”