Under the grant introduced to augment the literature of the Maldives National University (MNU), the university has launched two of its books.
Both versions are aimed at children with environment-centric themes. The books were published by Speaker of Parliament and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
After officially releasing the books, the President spoke about the importance of reading; an endangered practice, he said. According to Nasheed, the practice can be encouraged in children with the subsequent encouragement of practice in adults.
Thanks to the subsidy introduced by MNU, local authors and creators had the opportunity to publish their works in a professional capacity.
The two books published on Tuesday October 11 were written by Leela Ahmed, dean of students at the university and illustrated by local illustrator Naaz Mohamed.
Speaking about the inspiration for creating the stories, Leela says she had the idea to write them in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic – during which the island nation was under nationwide lockdown. She hopes that with her two outings, children will be encouraged to take care of the environment in which they grow up.
Meanwhile, MNU confirms that it has received 30 book author proposals for the book writing grant. Following a review of the proposals, a total of 14 proposals were selected for which a combined total of nearly one million Rufiyaa was extended.
In another move as part of MNU’s efforts to improve its library of books, the university opened a book fair on Tuesday. The fair was also inaugurated by the President of Parliament.
A total of 22 parties provided over 1,400 books for the fair. The fair ran until Thursday, October 13.
