MAKING CHANGES THROUGH CREATIVE THINKING

"Imagine Write Creatively", a joint initiative by The Daily Star (TDS) and United International University (UIU), hosted its sixth workshop at the premises of the senior section of Marie Curie School in Dhanmondi, Dhaka on August 27. The purpose of the workshop was to encourage school students to think and write creatively and let their imagination develop through the medium of creative writing. 

The workshop kicked off at 10 am in the presence of students from Class VI to IX, with an inspiring speech by the Chairperson of Marie Curie School, Professor Dr. M. Shamsher Ali. He thanked TDS and UIU for their joint effort and then proceeded to talk about the importance of thinking, reading and writing in making an impact on society. He said, "You have to read in order to understand people's points of view and opinions. If you ever come across something that you think is flawed, try and fix it through writing but your manner of expression must be unique."

He went on to add, "Your ideas must be clear and your words, down to earth but penetrating at the same time. And remember, after you've completed your piece, let someone else read it and always be open to criticism."

As the Chairperson ended his note with best wishes for the students, the trainers, Sharmin Sultana, Assistant Professor and Co-ordinator, English Language Institute (ELI), UIU and Shiwa Forkan, freelance trainer, picked up the pace with a few warm-up exercises. The whole workshop was focused on making the students more familiar with the tricks and techniques of good storytelling. They were shown how they could develop their characters, come up with a setting that complimented their stories, and also how to proceed with the plots. 

All these were done through numerous exciting games and activities that kept the students captivated throughout. Near the end of the workshop, they were divided into groups and each group was given prompts using which they were asked to come up with their own stories. The students responded enthusiastically and came up with a number of stories that left the trainers in awe.

According to Sharmin Sultana, the workshop was a success, mainly due to the co-operation from the students. As the event came to an end, she said, "These students were very co-operative and I think that they do have the power and the imagination to be creative. I had a great time and I think they did too." Shiwa Forkan couldn't agree more.

The students seemed to have a similar response to the workshop. When Labiba Binte Shahid, a student from Class VIII, was asked for her opinion, she said, "I think this workshop will help take my creative writing skills to a whole new level. Now it will be easier for me to construct a good story."

Zahin Shahriar Bin Khair, from Class IX, said that he had learned quite a few things about creative writing from this workshop. He also added, "I was actually really happy to have learned some things that we don't usually learn in class. It was a really exciting workshop."

It was at the very end that the Principal of Marie Curie School, Saqeba Ali, and the Vice Principal, Jillun Nahar Chowdhury, expressed their heartiest gratitude to TDS and UIU. Ali said, "This has been a very encouraging and effective workshop. And it was very special for us because the slogan of Marie Curie School is: 'The centre for creative learning.' We never encourage our students to only memorise from their text books; we always ask them to think outside of their text books. As our chairperson said, in order to succeed in life, the most important thing to do is to think. That is what we urge our students to do. And I think this workshop helped a lot in this process."

Shreyosi Endow is a tea addict who likes to read poetry and is obsessed with plants. Send her a mail at endow1211s@gmail.com