In line with its commitment to encourage a culture of reading in the UAE, MAKTABA at the Department of Culture and Tourism – 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 ofReading2021 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.
The UAE annually celebrates reading during the month of March, in order to establish it as a daily habit among members of society and to intensify initiatives and programmes that contribute to creating a society of readers armed with knowledge, capable of leading the country’s development process. This is in addition to preserving its cultural, intellectual and cognitive achievements, building an exemplary model for others to follow.
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.”
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 ofReading2021 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. RebhiAlyan, Dr. Hoda Abbas, Director of the HH 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, and many more.
Numerous workshops and events 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 beautiful lessons. There will also be artistic workshops devoted to cultivating children’s creative talents, teaching them how to design a story’s cover, and 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.
AKhaliji 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-Darencourages students at their schools to read.
Anyone interested can view the full schedule of events and register to attend through the following link: https://library.dctabudhabi.ae/calendar
