Local stories strengthen national identity, promote Arabic language and prompt the youth to read, write and innovate

Dubai,UAE

Sallam Sallam

Winners of the 4th edition of Short Story Competition, organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center (HHC) in cooperation with Dubai Education Zone, were awarded during a virtual ceremony yesterday. 

The annual literary competition for male and female students of public and private schools in Dubai is aimed at promoting local stories to strengthen national identity, promote Arabic language and prompt the youth to read, write and innovate

H.E. Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmook, HHC CEO, congratulated the winners during the virtual ceremony and began his speech by sharing a short story from an old Emirati tale highlighting the wisdom and grace derived from charity. 

He said stories that revolve around charity reflect on the individual, the community and family. Stories about generosity ignite the spirit of cooperation and good manners.

Bin Dalmook also encouraged students to be inspired by UAE’s colloquial literature and values while keeping the storyteller’s individual style and preferred approach.

He noted: “It is paramount to organise activities from diverse aspects in support of the educational sector. With this writing competition, the HHC realises its vision of empowering younger generations by enriching their cultural heritage while preparing them for their national duties.”

Read, write and be creative

Tayeba A. Rahman, HHC Head of Libraries Section, pointed out the importance of organising activities that support the educational sector. She noted: “The short story writing competition opens a wider horizon for students to learn more of the Arabic language and encourage them to read, write and be creative.”

“Refining young talents and encouraging them to write enhances their values and brings out their creativity and literary talent, and most importantly develops the spirit of healthy competition among them. This competition opens broad spectrums for empowering Arabic language literary skills, prompting the youth to read, write and innovate. We had 29 students competing, from seven public and private schools in Dubai, all of whom joined efforts to enhance the writing skills of young scholars, broaden their knowledge, instill the spirit of competition among them and enable them to preserve the Arabic language,” she added.

Complete list of first three winners

Short Story Competition targets students of two categories: ages 12-14 and 15-17

In the 12-14 age group, the first two winners were students from Al Shafei School: Ahmed Bin Shafi came in first place, followed by Nezar Abdelnebi in second place. Meanwhile, Khalid Hussain, from Alrazi School came in third place.

In the High School category (15-17), the first three winners were from Al Shorouq private school.  Zainab Abdul Ghahar came in first place, followed by Sedra Aljesri in second place, followed by Masa Alkhatib in third place.

Customary to previous years, HHC’s Research and Studies department will publish the stories of the winners in the third edition of the competition in a special book.