With the year of reading acts as a reminder that there is nothing more important than expanding one’s mind, and learning and reading is the key that unlocks an infinite number of doors, Zayed University calls on young students to draw on their creativity and tell a story of their own. Launched earlier on February 19, the first New Fairytales and Fables from the UAE Writing Competition (NF&F), is held in partnership with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU) and SheikhaAlYaziaBint Sultan Al Nahyan’s ZOWD Cultural Foundation.The contest aims to highlight the growing interests in storytelling and demonstrate that UAE students know and value the meaning of their surrounding culture, and hope to take a part in this undying art.ZOWD was founded upon a vision of bringing the Emirati community together as readers. It is central to ZOWD’s mission that students everywhere in the UAE embrace the habit that forwards our culture to tomorrow and after.
With the continued support of various sectors and with this year being the UAE’s Year of Reading, ZOWD hopes to encourage schools and students in the Emirates to participate in what promises to be an annual contest to look forward to.“Reading is the only way forward for the UAE, but it is not enough to recognize the value of reading, we need to act and encourage our children to write stories of their own, to write the stories of tomorrow for their children to read,” SheikhaAlYaziaBint Sultan Al Nahyan said.Brioné LaThrop, Faculty Advisor to the Kharareef Heritage Storytellers, Creator of New Fairytales and Fables from the UAE, and Instructor at Zayed University’s Academic Bridge Program, hopes to capture the interest of students in the UAE everywhere to participate in the New Fairytales and Fables from the UAE Writing Competition (NF&F).
Although the official competition is limited to grades 7-12 in both Arabic and English, internal competitions are required for all the participating schools.
“I encourage all schools to engage their youngest students in the creative process. It is our goal that schools submit their best stories from the upper grades to us, as they integrate traditional storytelling to their young learners. Schools can have their Kindergarten and first grade classes to develop visual stories despite of their less developed language skills,” Brioné said.“Teachers can divide students into groups beginning with different story chains and let teams develop collective ideas. They can also host traditional oral storytelling contests after the students create their stories. All grades and school age students can participate in some creative way as they learn about the magical ancients archetypes from the UAE’s folklore of days gone by,” she added.
Students will be asked to compose their own fairytales and fables in 500 words or less, in Arabic or English. Stories should reflect the 40 themes of the competition, such as respect and integrity.Shamsa Al Taie, Director of Student Life at Zayed University, said: “The New Fairytales and Fables from the UAE Writing Competition supports our country’s youth initiatives in innovation, promotes creativity, critical thinking and most importantly our UAE identity. It is essential that we nurture our young people in shaping a future that promotes the unique culture and heritage of the UAE as members of the global community.”Furthermore, “We Are Writers”, which is an integral part of the New Fairytales and Fables Competition, allows every student who submit work for the competition to be published in a co-branded book for their school.“All schools and students in the Emirates must join in celebrating the UAE, and in writing the stories that we will tell to tomorrow’s children,” Brioné added.More information is available online at http://www.cultures.ae/index.php/writing-contest