Invited to deliver the opening remarks were UTAR President Ir Prof Dr Ewe Hong Tat, FAATUM President Dato’ Lawrence Ting, and ICS Dean Assoc Prof Dr Chong Siou Wei. In his speech, Prof Ewe said, “The study of children’s literature and related workshops are very important to our children and society. When they read these books, they will learn more and experience the truth, goodness and beauty advocated by the Chinese culture.” He pointed out that children's learning is no longer confined to the classroom with the changes of the times, and he added, “What they can read is no longer books. The channels used to impart knowledge have gradually inclined to videos and pictures. However, the benefit gained from reading a quality book is still irreplaceable.”

On the other hand, Dato’ Lawrence Ting highlighted the importance of Chinese education in Malaysia. “FAATUM has always spared no effort to make a contribution to the local Chinese education. Children’s literature is a part of Chinese education,” he said, adding that it could nourish future leaders for the nation. Dr Chong welcomed the guests and thanked them for their cooperation in making the event successful. He said, “I hope that in the future, we will continue to cooperate in promoting such cultural and educational activities which could contribute to the Chinese education in Malaysia.” He also hoped that this workshop could help the participants gain a better understanding of the development and publishing of children's literature.

During the workshop, Children’s Literature and Culture Association of Hong Kong President Dr Fok Yuk-ying gave a keynote lecture on the publication and development of Hong Kong children's magazine. She provided some examples of twentieth-century Hong Kong magazines, sharing the origin and overall idea of these magazines with participants as well as the influence of these magazines on readers. She also presented some contents of the children's magazine to provide the participants a better understanding of the magazine.

The event also saw two roundtable sessions. Moderated by Sungai Long Department of Chinese Studies Head Assoc Prof Dr Liau Ping Leng, the first session was presented by the Malaya Press Sdn Bhd Editor-in-Chief Chia Chen Eng, Penerbitan Pelangi Sdn Bhd Publishing Director Dr Poh Swee Hiang, Sin Chew Daily Editor Tee Teck Huat, children's book Editor Huang Hui-ling and Editor-in-Chief Woo Kam Loon from Linking Publishing Company, Taiwan. They discussed matters related to editing, publication and market pertaining to children's literature.

In Woo’s talk, he said, “In these recent years, the publishing industry in Taiwan has become challenging. It is affected by several factors such as politics and other hot-button issues.” According to him, topics based on "people" such as YouTuber, internet celebrities, and politicians were topics of current interest in Taiwan market. When talked about the challenges of children’s book publishing, he said, “Children’s book may not be the best-seller. However, it has sustained sales from schools.”

Huang, on the other hand, pointed out that technologies such as mobile phones have made a big impact on people’s habit. “The web consists of too much information sources and this habituates us into skimming and jumping around to look for information. People are reading all the time, however, it is only shallow reading,” she said. Tee admitted that the emerging of the internet has significantly affected the publishing industry. The cost spent on inks and papers has increased over time and it has indirectly affected the quality of publications.

Furthermore, Dr Poh highlighted the importance of understanding what readers want in order to provide readers with books that could fulfil their expectations. He voiced out several issues, stating that a publisher should take considerations on how to apply the latest technologies and compete with substitutes. Sharing her view, Chia commented that children nowadays are growing up with amazing technology. She expressed her hope that parents could encourage their children to read more book instead of overusing digital devices.

The presenters for the second session were Odonata Publishing Sdn Bhd Director Khor Ewe Pin, Malaysian Chinese writers Wong Yun Teng and Chew Chin Chong, Taiwan illustrators Hsu Yu-Jung and Chen Yu-lin. The session was moderated by Chinese writer-cum-Writers Association of Chinese Medium Vice President Nian Hong on the topic “Author and their work”.

During the session, Hsu and Chen shared their personal story about their journey of becoming a Taiwan illustrator. Hsu was inspired by Taiwan’s most renowned children’s book author and illustrator Jimi. He said, “I love to draw Taiwan temples. I hope that more people could know the beauty of the temples.” He mentioned that the biggest challenge was to illustrate a story with no or very few words. Chen, on the other hand, said that she has been interested in drawing since she was a child. “A lot of people do not know what actually an illustrator is. In the past few years, this career was not popular in Taiwan,” she said. Originally an illustrator at an advertising company, she quit the job and started drawing illustrations from a child’s point of view.

Moreover, Chew pointed out that children will also be exposed to death at some point. His first book was about death, which could help children understand the concept of death. Expressing his passion to write children's poetry, he said, “Many children are talented in poetry writing. All we have to do is to guide them and unlock their potential.” On the other hand, Wong explained some myth of common sense. She said, “Being an author does not guarantee you a high income. Publishing after writing a book is just the beginning.” Besides, Khor said that the past decade has been a golden age of children’s publications. He shared his journey from the writing process to publication, saying that his daughter has helped him a lot along the way.

The workshop ended with closing speeches given by Dr Liau and FAATUM Vice President Gan Chin Hui. In her closing speech, Dr Liau thanked all the presenters for their valuable sharing and all the participants for their support. She also expressed her appreciation to the distinguished guests as well as her team for the effort they put into making this event a success. Gan thanked UTAR for organising such a beneficial event together with FAATUM and hoped that this would be a good start to contribute to the development of Malaysian literature.