The Ministry of Education (MoE) has signed
a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Emirates Literature Foundation aimed
at unifying efforts to consolidate the reading approach among students. This
will be done through a number of projects that both sides have agreed to
implement in a way that contributes to building constructive cooperation between
the two parties. This will not only reflect positively on students’ educational
path but will also develop their reading skills and motivate them to exert more
efforts for their reading habit to turn into a lifestyle throughout all the
stages of their cognitive growth and contribute to forming their cultural and
cognitive identity.
The MoU was signed at the MoE headquarters in
Dubai by H.E. Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Care
and Activities Sector, and H.E. Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and Trustee of the
Emirates Literature Foundation. The signing ceremony was attended by H.E.
Jameela Bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education.
The MoU is aimed at encouraging students to
learn and practice reading outside classrooms, motivating government schools to
effectively participate in the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. It is
also aimed at bolstering cooperation between the two sides in the cultural
fields that target teachers and students through a package of enrichment initiatives
and projects, including the Voices of Future Generations initiative which is
under the patronage of UNESCO. This initiative aims to raise awareness of
the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Rights of the Child, with a
writing competition for short adventure stories written by children between the
ages of 8-12 years
HH Sheikha Hissa Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Goodwill
Ambassador for the Gulf region for Voices of Future Generations, said: “Education and literature have always been a big part of my life
and are a source of great joy. Sustainability is one of the most
important topics of our time, and education is the most powerful tool we
have to promote it.”
The MoU also discussed the expansion of students’
and educational cadres’ participation in the Emirates Airline Festival of
Literature. This would be made possible through organizing visits for authors
and writers to UAE schools and live streaming educational sessions from the Festival
to a number of schools across the country to increase the number of students
benefiting from the various activities of the Festival. The Emirates Literature
Foundation also organises the School Librarian of the Year Award, which
culminates in a much anticipated award ceremony at the Festival.
Meanwhile, Al Muhairi praised the Emirates Literature
Foundation’s cognitive role and educational and informative initiatives, which
complement the MoE’s efforts to improve the quality of educational outputs,
enabling them to reach new milestones in all inspiring cognitive and cultural
fields that are dependent on cultivating students’ the reading habit as a
fundamental gateway to sustaining their mental and cognitive development.
Al Muhairi pointed out that the signing of
the MoU with the Emirates Literature Foundation came as part of an inclusive
educational vision aimed at promoting students’ positive practices, particularly
reading, as a major starting point for translating education-related national
strategies, which were immensely focused on reading in line with the directives
of the wise leadership.
For her part, Al Shamsi said the MoE is
working on extending bridges of co-operation with all national institutions
concerned with reading and culture, benefiting from its pioneering experiences
in this field and providing students with the opportunity to diversify the
sources of cognitive inspiration so that they would subsequently reflect on
their scientific and academic level.
Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature
Foundation said: “This is an important building block for our two organisations
who are both passionate about ensuring future generations will love books,
reading and caring for this beautiful planet we share.”