MARAWI CITY, LANAO DEL SUR – The National Book Development Board (NBDB), in partnership with Aklat Alamid, will host the first-ever Marawi Children’s Book Fest on June 27-29, 2025 at the Mindanao State University’s main campus. 

The event aims to equip authors, illustrators, and publishers with the necessary skills and knowledge in producing children’s books, while highlighting Meranaw culture and traditions. 

“There should be available quality and accessible Maranao books that represent who they are and the way they live. In the 2023 National Readership Survey results, there was a notable decline in reading non-school books, which was at 43% for children. Access to books emerged as the primary reason for the decline, with limited awareness of public libraries and constraints in time and distance,” said NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade. 

She added, “NBDB’s grant supports publishing stakeholders in enhancing their skills and knowledge through professional development events such as the Marawi Children’s Book Fest. We encourage other organizations to initiate events such as this.” 

In a list compiled by Aklat Alamid, only around 20 children’s books from different regions in the country feature Muslim stories from 1990 to 2012 but were mostly authored by non-Muslim Filipinos. The next year, 2013, marked a new milestone as the number of titles featuring Muslim stories increased to more than 100 titles by 2023. With the implementation of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education starting in the 2012-2013 school year, different mother tongues, including those spoken by Muslim Filipinos, were used in reading materials for early-grade level students.

“The seminar-workshop aims to orient the participants on the importance of books for Meranaw children and to guide the preselected authors and illustrators in the process of developing the picture books,” said M.J. Cagumbay Tumamac, popularly known as Xi Zuq to his readers, who is also the co-founder and administrative head of Aklat Alamid. 

He added, “As part of a larger project, [we aim] to develop four picture books on Meranaw culture, created by Meranaw authors and illustrators, written in the Meranaw language, and for Meranaw readers.” 

The festival takes on deeper significance in the context of post-siege Marawi, where the 2017 conflict left physical and emotional scars on the community. In the years since, educators, parents, and cultural advocates have underscored the role of storytelling in rebuilding Maranao identity and heritage, as well as promoting healing and fostering peace. 

Meranaw Orthography, Storytelling Sessions, Bibliotherapy 

One of the main events at the workshop is a panel discussion titled Stories of Hope: Meranaw Voices from Marawi, which will present peacebuilding efforts in the community and share tools for education and empowerment with the participants. 

Meanwhile, there will also be an expressive, interactive, and visual storytelling session on two culturally rich children’s books, Si Jalal Ago So Ranaw and Ranao Monster. These stories are rooted in Meranaw culture and the natural beauty of Lake Lanao, the largest lake in Mindanao. 

The three-day event will also include discussions and workshops on the importance of Meranaw children’s books, Maranao orthography, children’s books illustration, and bibliotherapy. In a hybrid format, the book fest is expected to gather 150 participants including students, parents, teachers, authors, publishers, and novice illustrators. The speakers and facilitators are from the MSU-Main Campus, the City Schools Division of Marawi, Teach Peace Build Peace Movement Inc., and Aklat Alamid.

The event is in partnership with the university’s Meranaw Cultural Heritage Center, the City Schools Division of Marawi, and the Division of Lanao del Sur 1 under the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. 

With the Marawi Children’s Book Fest, the NBDB and Aklat Alamid are working together to reclaim narrative spaces for a community whose stories deserve to be read, heard, and cherished.