Guest of the ilb 2001
Abdel-Tawab Youssef, was born in Egypt in 1928 and studied Political Science at the University of Cairo. As a student he edited and translated for various newspapers and journals. After graduating he obtained a position at the ministry for education, where he was head of schools’ radio until 1956. He led the journalism, radio and television division in the Department of Public Relations until 1971, and the cultural division until 1975. Since then he has dedicated himself entirely to his writing. In the 1980s Youssef was frequently sent to Qatar as a UNESCO expert.
Youssef can be regarded as a pioneer in Egyptian children’s literature. His first work written for young people was broadcast via radio in 1950. A multitude of other Arabic juvenile radio and television programmes followed. Youssef founded the Society of Children’s Culture, is a founder member of the Children’s Culture Committee, and established the first Islamic children’s magazine, »Al-Firdous«, in which he has published monthly articles since 1969. »A child’s imagination is a vast, boundless universe, home to all kinds of images, characters, events and visions. The child stores all the wonderful stories he has heard in his mind and there constructs a world which corresponds to his own ideas«, Youssef once said. He considers it the author’s task to help children to find their way around this universe.
His book »Life of the Prophet Mohammad in Twenty Stories« has sold five million copies and won the New Horizons Award (2000) at the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna. The five-volume »Toshka Series« appeared on the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) honours list. Youssef lives in Cairo.
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