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Yesterday, the burgeoning literary scene in the United Arab Emirates achieved a new achievement with the publication of picture books for the winners of the first round of the “Voices of Future Generations” competition for the Middle East, Saud Ahmed Al Kaabi, 10 years old. old, from Kalba, and Saira Thomas, aged 12, from Sharjah. The global launch of the books coincided with International Literacy Day, during a dialogue meeting on the relationship between education, children’s rights and sustainability.
Sheikha Hessa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Goodwill Ambassador for the initiative for the Middle East, for her part mentioned the way to publish a difficult and long book, but the children committed themselves to the hard work that refined their storytelling skills, increased their knowledge and put them able to achieve their remarkable achievements.
She added: “The tenacity and belief in what they do, along with their understanding, passion and dedication to educating others about the SDGs, by spreading their stories, is what we need most in terms of values and principles for the future. generations. I’m proud of them and look forward to seeing what they will achieve.”
The interactive meeting, organized by the International Law Center for Sustainable Development in partnership with the “Voices of Future Generations” initiative for children, and in partnership with the Canadian Committee for UNESCO, with the participation of experts from Cambridge University and McGill University, and the participants were hosts a range of teachers, child and youth leaders, mentors and experts Partnership between generations, children’s rights and global goals for sustainable development. During their participation in the interactive meeting, Saud Al Kaabi and Saira Thomas presented excerpts from their books to celebrate the launch of the global edition.
The Voices of Future Generations initiative is a writing competition launched to promote awareness of sustainability and the goals of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Emirates Literature Foundation is organizing the regional competition on behalf of Sheikha Hessa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the initiative’s goodwill ambassador for the Middle East.
Entering its fourth year in the region, the initiative will celebrate the winners of the 2022 cycle at a special awards ceremony on 25 September 2022. 8 and 12 years old.
The contest requires that the word count of the stories submitted to the contest be between 600 and 1500 words and be in Arabic or English. The competition is held under the auspices of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science in the United Arab Emirates, which is a member of the network of national committees for UNESCO.
