Nigeria, Korea partner on child devt initiative

THE educational and cultural arm of the Embassy of Korea in Nigeria, the Korean Cultural Centre in Abuja has partnered its Nigerian counterpart in a children development initiative themed “Let’s Play With Yoo!”

With participation of the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Federal Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Federal Ministry of Education and the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), the educational programme focusing on the development of children’s plays for Nigerian children and their teachers was planned as a part of the fifth anniversary celebration of the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria.

For this purpose, the Centre invited Yoo Hong Young, an expert on Korean children’s games. Besides the target participation of children in the programme, other participants included teachers and artistes, with the audience and participants being mostly residents of the FCT metropolis.

Kwon Yong Ik, Director of the Korean Cultural Centre said, “Mr. Yoo Hong Young is an actor, dancer, and stage director of performing arts and is currently an associate director of the Theatre for Young Audiences of the National Theater of Korea. He is also a former chairman of the Korea Mime Council, and a former artistic director of Theater Company Sadari.”

The first event, Workshop for Children was held for five days from April 13th to 17th, and involved 20 children guided to play with their body, rubber balloons, paper, and display what they learnt from the event. The second event, Workshop for Teachers, was held on April 20th with 10 teachers specially invited.

The participants were given an opportunity through a lecture and question and answer session to deepen their understanding of why children need play, the effects of play on children’s education, and how to teach children to play. Finally, the third event, Workshop for Artists, took place on April 21st and 22nd for a group of 20 artists.