Nazih Girgis, Story-teller, writer and publisher, has written and published, in
Arabic, English and Spanish, several books aimed at raising the children's awareness
about critical issues - in any society - such as the environment; health and the impact
of obesity; road safety and traffic laws; water conservation and resources and; music
appreciation and education. His books received wide acclaim in media outlets in the
Arab world and the U.S. He also received top prizes in major children's literature
competitions in Egypt.
His books include:
"Peter and the Wolf," A translation into Arabic of Sergei Prokofiev's masterpiece,
introducing music appreciation and education, with introduction by the late Oleg
Prokofiev, son of the composer. The book is now part of the collection of Prokofiev
Museum at Columbia University in New York.
"Carnival of the Animals," A story for Camille Saint-Saens' masterpiece aimed
at educating the children about the environment in many aspects, with fun and joy, as
the animals clean up the zoo and collect the garbage left by the visitors.
"Queen Waters," A prose poem in which the drop of water is portrayed as a queen
with four daughters, 'Rivers,' 'Oceans,' 'Wells' and 'Rain,' for Handel's "The Water
Music." Girgis produced this work in a ballet that presented Egypt in the "World
Summit on Sustainable Development," Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002.
"Stop & Learn from Dr. Wise, the Elephant," A story of a wise family of
elephants that respects traffic laws, versus a mischievous family of monkeys that does
the opposite. It helps the children understand the importance of learning safety on the
road in many aspects such as the danger of speeding, using mobile phones while
driving. The story also emphasizes the importance of car maintenance; wearing
helmets while biking, obeying traffic signs and much more.
"The Dolphin Park," A story of three sibling dolphins through which the children
learn about the negative impact of eating unhealthy foods and consuming sugary
drinks. President and Mrs. Obama sent Girgis a note of recognition after he had sent a
number of copies in support of Mrs. Obama's initiative, "Let's Move."
Using his own books and recordings, Girgis has, to-date, conducted over 1,200
workshops and reading sessions in schools, libraries and book fairs throughout Egypt,
the Arab world and the U.S. His books were also purchased in large quantities by
major multi-national corporations such as Shell-Egypt, ExxonMobil-Egypt, BPEgypt, Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), Danish International Development Assistant
(DANIDA), UNICEF-Egypt, Egyptian Ministry of Education, as well as many NGO's
and educational Institutions. His current project is spreading awareness among the
children in Egypt through the utilization of "The Children's Integrated Awareness
Program," which he has recently developed in Arabic, English and Spanish.
The Children's Integrated Awareness Program
Developed by: Nazih Girgis
Program Name: "The Children's Integrated Awareness Program"
Presented by: Children's writer, story-teller and publisher, Nazih Girgis
Languages: Bilingual, Arabic/English
Program Focus: Raising the children's awareness of the following topics:
*Music Appreciation *Environment *Road Safety and Traffic Laws
*Water Resources and Conservation *Health and the Impact of Obesity
Program Theme: Learning with literature, acting and fine music
Program Process: The presenter starts by telling the story to the recipient
children, while emphasizing the values and lessons to be learned in the story in a brief
discussion, followed by hearing the story with music while the children act out the
characters in the story, each wearing the mask of the character they are imitating. At
the end, a coloring book of the story, including the story text, in both Arabic and
English, is handed out to each of the children to color (It is strongly suggested that a
competition for a prize awarded to the best colored book be announced). This
will get the children to enthusiastically involve their hands, eyes and brains, while
reading the story over and over, in an effort to produce the best colored book,
allowing the messages in the story to be easily absorbed. The outcome of this process
is remarkably beneficial to the children. The program comprises five diverse
workshops, covering all topics.
Benefits Generated: It is proven that the recipient children generate the outmost
benefits from the program in many aspects of each topic introduced.
Program Duration: Two consecutive days, from 9am to 1pm.
Age Categories: The workshops are organized by age groups, as follows:
*5 - 7 years *8 - 10 years
*11- 13 years
Group Capacity: 40 students plus teachers.