Young Writers, Find Your Voice

Creative Writing is being promoted more and more in schools around the UAE, what is the impact of having such a strategy in the education system?

Diving into the magical world of books and stories, you have probably always dreamed of publishing your own book someday. (I mean, who hasn’t?) Yet, these thoughts always remain fantasies, and writing becomes just a hobby you do when you’re not busy with other stuff.

That was, until recently, when the UAE’s Ministry of Education launched a creative writing program that turned 25 students’ writing dreams into reality[1]. These students dreamed of becoming authors, and now, they are holding their published books in their hands. Along with the supporting initiatives of the ‘Year of Reading’ for the UAE, this creative writing program will further promote a normalized culture of reading and writing among the youth of the UAE.

This program was part of the “Aqdar” initiative, to empower creative, young minds as part of the Year of Reading and literacy promotion efforts. Aiming to help children and young adults improve their writing skills and by widening their imagination, they have unraveled talented local writers.

At the start of the program, the students never pictured themselves writing a single poem or story, let alone a book full of poems, but with this addition to the curriculum, teachers were guiding these young visionaries on the skills they needed to express their thoughts and feelings into words.

Wrapping up the first round of the program, the published books were sold at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2016. Each of the authors autographed their very first copies, making for an unforgettable moment. The ministry hopes to expand the creative writing scheme to include more students and teachers in the coming year. This means more undiscovered talents!

Lesson of the day: Don’t toss your writing dreams into a corner, seek the motivation and support that will open doors to the wonderful world of imagination, self-expression, and authorship.

[1] http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/creative-writing-scheme-helps-uae-students-realise-publishing-dreams