Abu Dhabi's Department Of Culture To Host Over 150 Workshops During Month Of Reading

Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture to host over 150 workshops during Month of Reading

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 01st Mar, 2021) MAKTABA at the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced that it will be organising more than 150 workshops and events during March, to mark the country’s Month of Reading, held this year under the theme ‘My Family Reads’.

The Month of Reading 2021 initiative has been designed to enhance the role of parents in instilling a love of reading in their children, highlighting its importance in achieving family cohesion and its vital role in early childhood development, as well as enabling children to explore and search for inspiration within books.

MAKTABA will be hosting a large number of authors, trainers, and specialists in various fields, including author Dr. Wafa Al Shamsi, education Consultant Fatima Al-Ali, Professor Abraham Alonso Ayala, Emirati writer and researcher Dr. Muhammad bin Jarash Al Suwaidi, Emirati composer Eman Al Hashemi, consultant and trainer Dr. Adel Abdullah, Salama Hamad Al Tamimi, the Secretary of the Deaf Association, and Major Abdullah Al Hadrami from Saif Bin Zayed academy for Police and Security Sciences.

MAKTABA’s Month of Reading 2021 workshops will see the participation of Dr. Aisha Al Shamsi, author Shahd Al Abdoul, author Nasser Al Dhaheri, Dr. Fatima Al Breiki, authors Kaltham Al Falasi, Dr. Rebhi Alyan, Dr. Hoda Abbas, Director of the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum library at King’s Academy, Dr. Wissam Musleh, a specialist in libraries at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, and Mohammed Al Ameri, director of Dubai Libraries, among others.

Numerous workshops for children are being organised by MAKTABA, including reading sessions in both Arabic and English, in which children will listen to stories that fire their imaginations and inspire them with lessons.

There will also be artistic workshops devoted to cultivating children’s creative talents, teaching them how to design a story’s cover.

Also, the "Children's Theatre" workshop, where children will act out a story while wearing costumes. Members of the Young Intellectuals Club, the Creativity Club for Reading and the Young Creators Forum will meet during a number of different virtual sessions.

MAKTABA will also be organising a number of seminars and workshops for adults, including workshops dealing with the importance of reading and its role in forming linguistic abilities, how to instill within children a passion for reading, as well as a workshop on self-development through music. There will also be reading sessions in Spanish, Chinese and Korean, while People of Determination can look forward to a number of workshops that cover the challenges often faced with reading and how to overcome them.

A Khaliji poetry evening will be hosted to mark World Poetry Day, as well as a virtual seminar entitled ‘Feminist Literature and Women's Writings in the UAE’ with the participation of Maryam Al-Saadi, Nadia Al-Najjar, Nojoom Al-Ghanim and Hamda Khamis.

MAKTABA is also hosting a seminar that will be moderated by Emirati author Eman Al Yousuf and feature Isobel Abulhoul OBE, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation, who will speak about the importance of festivals in promoting reading. Sahar Cooper, CEO of Al-Dar Academy Schools, will also take part, speaking about how Al-Dar encourages students at their schools to read.

Shaikha Mohamed Almehairi, Library Management Director at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, "The Month of Reading initiative is the result of the efforts of UAE leadership to boost knowledge among citizens and residents alike. Year after year it reinforces the importance of reading, motivating community members to make it part of their everyday lives – a daily habit. This goes hand-in-hand with the efforts of MAKTABA, as we organise workshops and events that suit audiences of different interests and age groups to bring them closer to books."