Here We Start – Issue #45

With publishing our 45^th issue, which is our December issue for year 2013, we have so much to celebrate here in the UAE. As the case with every December, our country is festively filled with our beloved flags everywhere, be it on our homes, in the malls, or on the streets. Such over joyous demonstration of our love for our country only grows our love for our UAE even more and instills further patriotism in us. The country that gave us so much yet no matter how much we try to give back, we barely give back any.

On a parallel note, as we all know, just few days ago we got the great news we’ve all been waiting so long for, the final announcement of the winning city to host the World Expo 2020. The final shortlisted cities were: Izmir from Turkey, Sao Paolo from Brazil, Ekaterinburg from Russia, and of course, Dubai from the UAE. Our great leaders sought the great opportunity in hosting such a prestigious event and submitted a hosting bid to the responsible committee (BIE) to get the chance to host it in Dubai on year 2020. After months of thorough hard work from the assigned team by our country’s leadership, and with the massive awareness campaigns that led the entire UAE nation supporting Dubai’s bid and hoping beyond hope to win the bid, the announcement was finally made on the 27^th of November to declare Dubai as the winning city for the World Expo 2020. This announcement was not cheered for by our leaders only, but by the entire nation filled, with pride and joy in belonging to such a great country under such visionary leadership. The joy extended to the entire region, having Dubai as the first city in the entire MENA hosting this prestigious event.

In light of the anticipation of Expo 2020, Sail eMagazine hosted a writing competition for the best article written to explain Expo 2020 and Dubai’s hosting bid to win the expo. After evaluating all the entries by the assigned committee from Sail, we are pleased to announce the winner name today. Congratulations to Shehla AlAshkar! You can read her article by clicking here.

As always, our team is constantly growing with new members. For this month we have 3 new members:

• A columnist: Salma Bin Faqqas, an aspiring 17 years old chemical engineering student that took a leap of faith into the unknown where she found out what she is truly capable of becoming. She believes that people too weak to pursue their own dreams will always find a way to discourage hers. An official addict to positivity and spreading joy. Through her column: ”To a better tomorrow” she focuses on common problems found in our society and psychologically analyses them. It also gives simple solutions to the raised issues in order to make the community a better place to live in.
• An illustrator: Hayat AlHassan is a sixteen-year-old Emarati who is always seeking to figure out her purpose in this life. Through art, she aims to express herself and send her message to the world. Her passion and enthusiasm for cameras and photography motivates her to observe, discover and capture the beauty of little things and rare special moments. Lastly, she hopes to inspire the world with a moment that has yet to be captured.
• An illustrator: Marwa Fadhel is a young Emirati with a third eye, obsessed with anything artistic. Media student at Zayed University, currently specializing in visual communications bachelor degree. Looks up to rise the art culture in the UAE. Marwah also has a passion of reading as she believes that both reading and art carry messages but are expressed differently.

And now, Issue #45 – December 2013 in brief:

• Beyond Inspiration – The Flag At Its Best: AlAnoud AlMadhi highlights that raising the flag on our homes is not a new trend, and shares a relevant personal story about her grandfather
• The First Years Last Forever – Instill Patriotism That Lasts: Ayesha AlJanahi explains how to get your children involved in most of the UAE activities and events and make them aware of their traditions and heritage to instill in them a patriotism that will last for lifetime.
• Hidden Promises – The Unattainable: Alia AlHazami ponders on how almost everyone has a dream, and almost everyone works as hard as they can just to see them turn into reality.
• Lost in Reverie – The Essential Cut: Alwid Lootah states that it is rather important to let go of people who weigh you down and surround yourself with positive circle of friends.
• Mental Pondering – Crack A Smile: Budoor AlYusuf wonders: Does a person have the ability to control his or her own happiness? How much does a person’s mood affect their happiness? Is there a way to improve one’s mood? And increase one’s happiness?
• Notes of The Night – Up, Up & Aware: Mustafa Abbas discusses the importance of self-growth and improvement.
• Out of Copyright – Live Boldly: Why Fit In When I Was Born To Stand Out!: Muna AlMulla shares the idea of being able to enjoy standing out from the crowd. Individuals like to blend in, because it is within the norm, so it makes it easier for people to accept them.
• To A Better Tomorrow – Children’s “Mini Theft”: Many parents are blaming themselves for their children’s inappropriate behavior even though most of them can be fixed with a little bit of care and attention. Salma Bin Faqqas sheds a light on the main causes and effects of stealing, one of the most familiar disproportionate acts going on among children.

Enjoy our reads, and don’t forget to check out our illustrations by our creative team: Anood AlMulla, Fatma AlHashemi, Hayat AlHassan, Maha Bin Fares, and Marwa Fadhel, .

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Warm regards,
Iman Ben Chaibah
Editor in Chief