Work

Asfour Initiative: Reclaiming Ocean Literacy through Islamic Ethics and Community-Led Storytelling and Wellbeing in South Sinai

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The Asfour Initiative's Summer 2026 report covers a children-led storytelling program using puppetry to connect children in Sinai, Gaza, and Songea (Tanzania) with ocean literacy through Islamic and Bedouin ethical frameworks. The core curriculum comprises six thematic prompts: Amanah (Trust), Mizan (Balance), Rifq (Gentleness), Intimaa (Belonging), Sabr (Patience), and Khalifa (Guardianship), each pairing a Quranic/prophetic teaching with a corresponding marine-ecology concept (coral bleaching, food webs, coral restoration, parrotfish bioerosion, ecosystem recovery, and rights-of-nature case law), delivered through weekly dual-lesson modules with hands-on games, drawing, and puppet-show creation. The pilot ran 30 July–21 August at the Habiba Community Learning Centre in Nuweiba’a, Sinai, facilitated by two local Bedouin teachers, with younger children (3–6) contributing visual/character ideas and older children (7–12) developing these into scripts and performances. Three of the six prompts (Amanah, Rifq, Khalifa) were completed there, culminating in three puppet shows and community celebrations. The fourth prompt, Intimaa, was then adapted and delivered at the Olive You Hub in Cairo for displaced Gazan children, reframing "belonging" around displacement and loss of home and closing with a children's song performance and a Dabkah dance. Two findings stand out: participation grew from roughly 8 to 45 Bedouin children over the program, driven largely by the pull of the puppet-show performances; and children from two distinct clans of the Al-Muzeinah tribe (Ghawanmah and Sakhan) began participating together by the final show, showcasing a shared creative space bridging. On materials, the team deliberately avoided identifiable photography of children, given community sensitivities around consent, relying instead on artwork, scripts, and puppet performances (illustrated throughout by Sarah Mohamed/Swaidraws) as the record of participation.

Source: Septentrio Reports

DOI: 10.7557/7.9015

Authors: Dana Ahmed, Farah Sweis, Zainab Mutreb, Alaa Hasan Mohamed, Margherita Paola Poto

Institutions: University of Glasgow, University of Bologna, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Language: English

Topic: Environmental and sustainability education

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Life below water, Partnerships for the goals

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Universitetet i Tromsø, University of the Arctic