JEDDAH, 7 March 2005 — In the aftermath of the first Conference on Child Creativity, many participants have had their own creative sparks lit with new ideas on how to help youngsters learn. The five-day conference ended Wednesday, but the positive spirit it left with those taking part is likely to echo around the Kingdom for some time to come.
“I’m being trained to teach kindergarten in Makkah, and I came here especially to attend the last three days of the conference after I heard about it,” said Salwa Al-Ghamdi. “The lectures of the well-qualified educators and specialists in child psychology expanded my knowledge and made me think of new techniques for teaching.”
Participants responded interactively both with lecturers, and in workshops and were very interested in the subject matter. Qatari educator Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Murr, an alumnus of University of California and Durham University in the United Kingdom who specializes in pedagogy and elementary curricula, captivated audiences with his two-part presentation “How to be a pedagogic leader.”
“A true leader is who listens to all the people and then speaks after knowing how these people think in order to lead them correctly,” said Dr. Al-Murr. He also gave a workshop called “Future school tools” that dealt with the contemporary challenges in daily life concerning education.
Participants also enjoyed Dr. Abdullah Hadi’s humorous and insightful lecture on the culture of Muslim children that provided many pointers to help youngsters build healthy, stable personalities.
“A child do not only need a mind because desires are stronger than minds; he needs a mind, a stable soul and influential insight,” Dr. Hadi said, noting that creativity must be connected to our goals, and we should always follow through.
“Intelligence does not benefit a person if he does not have anything else,” he said.
Dr. Khalid Al-Hulaibi urged parents and teachers to use their intelligence and senses of fun and friendship to reach out to children in his workshop on methods for raising children.
Dr. Al-Hulaibi recommended new ways parents and teachers could stimulate children to focus their minds and fulfill their dreams. He stressed that parents must befriend with their children in order to make them feel safe and secure.
Other participants shared their ideas and information throughout the five days of the conference. “I attended one day of the conference,” said Mona Ahmad, a teacher in a private school in Jeddah. “I enjoyed the wonderful lectures given, and they benefited me a lot.”
Almost all who took part said that they had attended many conferences in the past but none with as many women who were so enthusiastic and anxious to interact in the sessions. All those in attendance who were queried by Arab News said they learned both from the presentations and interaction with other participants.
“Although the attendance fees were high, the value of the information I acquired was higher,” Al-Ghamdi said.
