With the advent of the festive season, an innovative concept of children's edutainment saw the light with the launch of Zuwar's new doll collection, "The Time Travelers," on November 18, 2015.
Lilia, the first character of the collection, was revealed to the public and media representatives during a press event which took place at Eklekta, a furniture and design gallery in Jisr el-Wati, in presence of the founders of Edidia, Mrs. Rima Khatib and Mr. Pierre Hervouet, and other collaborators on the Zuwar team.
Inspired by Lebanese Folkloric dolls created by the women of SOS Children's Village, and sold to help women lead a better life, Zuwar's characters characterize a modern adaptation of the traditional doll, tailor made to cater to the edutainment needs of today's children.
Commenting on the reveal of the Zuwar collection, Mrs. Rima Khatib, stated, "The collection we have here is not a conventional tool we are presenting to our new generation. We are giving them a holistic educational platform to play and interact through a creative approach, which revolves around a doll that introduces young girls and boys to our region's history and heritage," adding, "The innovation we bring goes far in engaging kids, allowing them to visit different periods of our past and help them learn about our history and culture through role-playing and other related activities."
With the help of Zuwar's dolls, children can learn about their history and ancestors through different means, including playing with their dolls, dressing them up in clothes while learning about their life at the time through the Travel Guide, as well as using board games that extend their knowledge of the local culture. Children will also be engaged in creative play provided by the do-it-yourself doll, as well as social media activities.
Through this project, Edidia aims to achieve an important sociocultural impact, as Zuwar empowers women at SOS and other local NGO's by providing them with a continuous source of income. The project also garners a cultural importance, from exposing Lebanese children to the region's history through play, using traditional means such as dolls, stories, and board games, while simultaneously incorporating a more contemporary approach through the website's activities.
