Adding to events for children at this year’s Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival will be a group of local students who took part in this year’s Young Enterprise Scheme.
Unify is a group of Gibraltarian sixth form students from Westside and Bayside who have written a children’s book based on equality. The main aim of the book, which is aimed at very young children, is to not only embrace differences in society, but to encourage them from an early age.
The book, which is entitled Zipp’s Trips, follows an alien (Zipp) who travels from planet Skipp and crashes into the garden of a little girl and another main character, Luna. Luna is a fearless young girl who faces discrimination in her everyday life due to her race. Zipp follows her around in school while trying to find parts to fix his ship and is shocked by the inequality Luna faces.
The idea for Unify to take part in the Literary Festival came about after representatives first approached the Ministry of Equality with their story. Minister Sacramento said, “I have to say that I was very impressed when these young students came into my boardroom for the first time earlier this year and presented to my Ministry and I their idea for a book, which aims to teach the message of inclusion and equality to children. Back then the book was still at its initial stages and it was just a collection of sketches and ideas, but I was won over instantly, not only by the idea of the equality message in the book but also by their energy and enthusiasm to reach out to people in Gibraltar and all over the world and convey this important message of equality. It is wonderful to see this idea come to fruition and I thought it would be very fitting for them to participate in our literary festival and give them the opportunity to reach out with the important messages in their book”
Join Unify at the John Mackintosh Hall on Saturday 18th of November at 12 noon for a fun and interactive reading of their book.
Tickets are available at www.gibraltarliteraryfestival.com at www.buytickets.gi and at the Festival Box Office, Garrison Library, 10.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday.
