Jom Kita Bincang! - Sustainability, health, and social issues through children’s literature

The opening forum on children’s rights and literature will be held on 13 June, in collaboration with the Sarawak State Library, UNICEF, the Swedish Arts Council, AstraZeneca, and the Malaysian Rare Disorders Society.

Jom Kita Bincang (Let’s talk about it) has served as the basis for conversations on sustainability, health, human rights, institutions, and social issues at events in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Penang. The Embassy will now be travelling with the project to Kuching, as part of our efforts to be present throughout Malaysia.

Children’s literature can be a big inspiration for young minds and thus society at large. If we all grow up with stories valuing respect for each other and for nature, socially and environmentally sustainable policies and behaviours will naturally follow. That is the thinking of Dr Joachim Bergström, Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia and instigator of Jom Kita Bincang.

“Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is a huge undertaking that requires us to fundamentally alter our attitudes and behaviour, and here children’s literature and education has an important role to play. I think a lot of the current Swedish leadership on sustainability can be traced back to how we all grew up with stories about respecting nature, the importance of equality and respect for one another regardless of background.

This, together with public institutions that expose children to the importance of preserving nature, has created a strong social norm. There’s a reason why a person like Greta Thunberg could gather thousands of school children outside the Swedish parliament every Friday” he said.

At the opening forum, a panel discussion will provide the perspectives on children’s literature, children’s rights, and the institutions that protect and promote these right from Ms Elisabeth Dahlin, former Swedish Ombudsman for Children, Ms Nina Suatan, Senior advisor, project leader for Bokstart, Swedish Arts Council, Ms Juanita Vasquez Escallon, Chief of Social Policy, UNICEF Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Hartini Zainuddin, Co-Founder of Chow Kit Foundation and Ms Nadiah Hanim, President of the Malaysian Rare Disorders Society.

AstraZeneca and the Malaysian Rare Disorders Society will also launch a new children’s book on rare diseases, “Zara Shares Her Stripes” and exchange a Memorandum of Understanding.

Commenting on the launch, Vinod Narayanan, Country President, AstraZeneca Malaysia said: “Our commitment to transforming lives affected by rare diseases extends beyond medical innovation. In collaboration with Malaysian Rare Disorders Society, we are proud to launch 'Zara Berkongsi Belangnya' a narrative to help families discuss rare diseases with young children in an approachable and age-appropriate manner. We hope this story about accepting your rare condition and the importance of finding a supportive community will spark conversations and promote inclusion and diversity in advocating for the rare disease community."

Supporting the view, Nadiah Hanim Abdul Latif, President, Malaysian Rare Disorders Society added, "Promoting a positive culture and core values crucial to the development of a healthy and inclusive society must start from young. Children are not born with prejudices. Stigma against those different from us, for example individuals living with rare diseases can be tackled by promoting healthy dialogue. Literature, arts & craft and play are powerful tools we can leverage on, to learn empathy and kindness together as it provides a safe space to explore complex topics in a fun, respectful and approachable way. We are happy to be part of this collaboration and look forward to changing the narrative and stigma against individuals living with rare diseases together. "

At the opening forum, guests will also be able to explore the Jom Kita Bincang exhibition, which will be open to the public at the Sarawak State Library over the coming weeks. The exhibition presents the philosophy of Astrid Lindgren in a sleek Scandinavian environment at the Swedish Little Library, with bookshelves filled with Swedish children’s literature – including three contemporary titles specially translated into Bahasa Malaysia.

The exhibition Never violence on children’s rights is based on the philosophy of beloved children’s book author Astrid Lindgren. She believed that people pass on the behaviour they were exposed to as children – upbringing and education can create vicious or virtuous cycles by passing on violence or love.

“Give the children love, more love and still more love – and the common sense will come by itself.” - Astrid Lindgren