Industry pioneers unite at SAC 2025 to propel animation’s next chapter in the region

Sharjah, May 3, 2025

The Sharjah Animation Conference (SAC) 2025 featured a riveting roundtable discussion titled “Animation in MENA & Africa: Opportunities & Challenges,” convening leading voices from the region’s animation industry to discuss the evolving sector. This anticipated session brought together Zümrüt Pakoy, MENA Programming and Presentation Director at Warner Bros Discovery; Abdulaziz Othman, CEO of ZEEZ Animation in Saudi Arabia; Tariq Ali, Founder of Egyptian studio ZANAD; Raymond Malinga, CEO of Creatures Animation Studio in Uganda; and Damilola Solesi, Creative Director and CEO of Smids Animation Studios from Nigeria.

The author and podcaster analysed the Emotional Quotient of his young audience and gave them tips in conflict management at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival

Sharjah, May 2, 2025

Schoolchildren from various UAE-based schools had a joyous and insightful conversation on their emotional wellbeing and conflict management capabilities with popular Indian author and YouTuber Varun Duggirala at the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF 2025) on Wednesday. The children in the 9-12 age group fired numerous questions at the popular children’s author during the “Students session with Varun Duggirala”, making it a spontaneous and learning-filled interaction.

At the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, children are not just reading stories – they are painting them, dreaming them, and living them, one freestyle masterpiece at a time

Sharjah, May 2, 2025

At the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), imagination doesn’t just leap off the pages of books – it now spills vibrantly onto giant canvases, thanks to the dedicated ‘freestyle painting’ studio that’s a permanent space at the Sharjah Children’s Illustration Exhibition.