Queen Rania checks on work of Raneen Foundation

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday engaged with students at the Shajaret Al Dur Elementary School for Girls in activities organised by the Madrasati initiative and the Raneen Foundation.

Established in December 2009 as a Jordanian nonprofit organisation, the foundation produces audio stories for children in classical Arabic to develop their listening skills and strengthen their Arabic language, according to a statement from Her Majesty's office.   

The Queen was briefed on the foundation's activities and collaboration with Madrasati by its founder, Rawan Barakat. 

Madrasati Director Tala Sweis and Ikram Maraqa, the school principal, were also present, the statement said. 

Barakat explained that the Raneen Foundation produces audiobooks recorded in a dramatic way with sound effects and music to inspire children and encourage them to use their imagination and creativity. 

She added that playing these stories to children helps them improve their listening, writing, speaking and acting skills. 

Barakat also told the Queen that the books are specifically made to help visually impaired children enjoy stories and develop their listening skills, according to the statement.

Queen Rania then spoke with fifth graders who were participating in a reflection exercise after listening to one of the foundation's audio stories. The students, along with two teachers, engaged in a discussion about the morals of the story.

At the school library, Her Majesty joined sixth graders in a puppet-making workshop, which was also organised by the Raneen Foundation.   

Queen Rania also spoke with a number of teachers who briefed her on the changes and renovations that took place in their school after the Queen's visit in 2008, when she announced it as one of the Madrasati schools. 

To date, the Raneen Foundation has established an audio library that includes 30 stories written by some of the leading authors in the Arab world and narrated by famous Arab actors. 

Through its partnership with Madrasati, other civil society organisations, women’s societies, and the Ruwwad organisation, the foundation has been able to reach beneficiaries in different governorates across the Kingdom.

A total of 5,000 children in Jordan and 1,000 children in the UAE have benefitted from the foundation, which also plans to extend its outreach to more governorates in Jordan as well as other Arab countries. 

The Raneen Foundation has also trained 450 teachers and mothers on new and creative storytelling methods. 

The foundation won the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement in 2009, The Synergos Award for Social Innovation in 2011, and the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Award for Arab Youth Globally Influential in 2013.