A project of transforming the literature of Omani stories and folk songs into visual interactive graphics drawing: Consolidating the concepts of Omani identity and culture

Among the priorities of Oman Vision 2040 in the field of Citizenship, Identity and National Heritage and Culture citizenship is building a "Society that is Proud of its Identity and Culture, and Committed to its Citizenship". This vision affirms that the process of preserving the identity and reinforcing responsible citizenship is achieved through the incorporation of those concepts into the educational curricula and by teaching the new generation to cherish their historical and cultural legacy. This requires a societal partnership from society in general and civil society institutions in particular to play an active role in preserving cultural and historical legacies in order to circumvent national identity, heritage and culture. This pride in identity will not come if the Omani child?s personality has not been formed since his early childhood when he sees Omani faces with their details and features in the home and the environment around him. As the child was growing up with his family according to a certain pattern of customs, traditions and legacies that constituted his intellectual and linguistic structure, but today's child did not have the opportunity to learn, sit with the elderly, or play and listen to inherited stories and songs. He/she found him-herself growing up within an intertwined system of knowledge and requirements that contribute to his/her upbringing and indoctrination. Al theses contributed to the existence of a generational gap in terms of linguistic dictionary or specific terminologies of culture and identity. The current studies confirm that the literature presented to the Arab child, including inherited stories and songs, contributes greatly to shaping the identity of the child and achieves its uniqueness in a world where the cultures and knowledge presented to him/her in today overlap. It also indicates that most of what is presented to the Arab child is in fact imported from different cultures and is translated to fill some shortage in the quality of the material available to the Arab child. These studies also share the role of imported cultures through television, video and electronic games in shaping the culture of the Arab child. From this point of view, this research project works on three main objectives: (1) researching Omani folk songs and tales, (2) trying to document them in a contemporary visual form that is appropriate to the early childhood stage, and (3) Utilizing modern technologies in transforming the literature of Omani songs and folk stories into visual interactive drawings that bear the characteristics and traits of the Omani