Bandar Seri Begawan - A New format will be introduced next year for the annual story telling or ‘Mari Bercerita‘ competition whereby participants will have to convey their stories based on pictures on computers provided by the organiser.
In line with the introduction of the new format, a workshop was held yesterday for government and private primary school teachers throughout the nation at Balai Sarmayuda, Language and Literature Bureau, Old Airport Berakas.
Each school was represented by at least one representative to gain more information on the new format, which in turn will be conveyed to students as a guideline when participating in the competition next year. The ‘Mari Bercerita‘ competition is an annual event organised and sponsored by the Library Section, Language and Literature Bureau under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports.
It was first launched on August 24, 1979 with the aims of instilling reading habits, as a training ground for speaking in public as well as for participants to be imaginative and creative.
For the past two decades, participants have used various techniques to deliver stories such as through acting or drama and pictures in the form of drawings, paintings, slide, projector or powerpoint.
According to reports from panel of judges, almost 90 per cent of the participants delivered their stories based on memorising during the competition throughout the years.
As such, the new format hopes to encourage children to tell stories naturally.
Present as the guest of honour was the Director of Language and Literature Bureau, Dr Mataim bin Bakar.
In delivering his speech, Dr Mataim spoke of the importance of reading in gaining more knowledge which would benefit both parents and children.
He also highlighted that the community in this region including Brunei has low level of reading habits and that such attitude should change.
The two-day workshop ended with the presentation of certificates to the participants.
Source: www.brudirect.com (5 Maret 2008)
