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.