Works in Progress: Book

A casual spectator observing this project might note that out of all the efforts at outreach that have been put forth this year, majority of them target the demographic of children.  The rationale behind our partiality towards children lies in the fact that children are, children.  Children are young and impressionable, and ultimately easier to reach out to.  They don't tend to be cynical or sarcastic; children are open minded and if you manage to capture their interest they will soak in everything you tell them and they will remember it.

And so we are once again reaching out to children, only this time through a different medium than we have done previously-- through books.

To be precise-- one book.  We are in the process of creating a picture storybook for children.

Books are way different from workshops or talks.  Books require active participation.  In workshops children have the option not to listen, or the option to listen but not absorb what is being said.  However in reading, the words you read have to be processed in your mind; they have to be taken in.  Which is why books have the potential to make a much larger impression on children, and a very different sort of impact.

The book we have in mind doesn't go along the lines of 'educational textbook', nor does it fall under 'conservationist propaganda'.  We are targeting children, after all.  The thing that sets the medium of The Story apart from any other method of communication lies in the captivation it can bring and the impression it can make; and we hope that the message conveyed through the story we tell will be well remembered.

We realise we are a league apart from professional writers in terms of the kind of writing they are able to produce and in the kind of audience they are able to reach out to.  In terms of the quality of the writing, there is little that we can do.  Although we do have a past national playwrights' competition winner as well as a qualified Special Arts Programme artist on the job.  As for reaching out to audiences-- more on that later.

More updates to come!

Posted in: outreach