Culture & Education | Tuesday 15 November, 2016 4:40 am |

Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Ruler of Sharjah, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, and Patron of Sharjah Girl Guides, the annual Festival of Sharjah Girl Guides will be held this year with ‘Future Pioneers’ as its theme.

The two-day festival will begin on Wednesday, 16 November, and will be open to the public on Thursday, 17 November. More than 130 Brownies (7-11 years) and Guides (12-15 years) will attend with their parents along with 200 representatives from the government and private sectors.  Registration for the second day will be open to the public on Thursday morning, to participate in the open day activities.

The festival aims to showcase the achievements made by the girls in five badge categories – sports, community action, guiding world, and art badge for the Guides, and the culture badge for the Brownies. It will also raise awareness about the work and activities of the Guides to other social and cultural organisations in the emirate, and promote SGG to other girls and their parents in Sharjah.

Shaikha Al Shamsi, SGG Assistant Manager, said: “In line with the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi to support the development of youth and girls in the emirate, this event will form an excellent entertainment and education programme for current Girl Guides members and a showpiece for those who may want to join. Sharjah Girl Guides presents wonderful opportunities to gain experience in many practical skills and artistic pursuits, with a great sense of community spirit and teamwork.”

“We are certain many people will attend the festival on the second day and will want to know more about our organisation and the activities we provide. When they see the projects we have and how much there is to gain, I am equally sure we will have many more members as a result.”

The festival has a unique layout, with five geometric exhibition spaces, or ‘gates,’ each leading into the next around a central reception area, each gate representing a badge. The five gates represent the badge categories of self-development, health, global awareness, international guiding, as well as interests. Each gate will display the girls’ creations, pictures, artwork and short videos of activities and events that SGG has previously organised. Additionally, various workshops will be conducted; their topics corresponding to the badge themes of the gates where they will be held.

The second day workshops will feature a string workshop at the self-development gate, a healthy plate workshop sponsored by Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation at the health gate, a Lego workshop at the interest gate, an environmental workshop conducted by Beeah at the global awareness gate and a guiding workshop on tying bracelets at the international guiding gate. These are in addition to numerous activities that will be running throughout the second day, which will be open to the public, to keep the girls entertained and occupied, including games, sports activities and food stations.

The annual festival is sponsored by Etisalat, Padova Hair & Beauty Saloon, Ahmed Al Maghribi Perfumes, Karji Perfumes who are all providing prizes, vouchers or giveaways and Al Joory Trading, who has sponsored the event’s creative invitation package.

The guiding movement was first established in Sharjah in 1973, after which it blossomed through all seven Emirates, giving rise to the Girl Guides Association of the United Arab Emirates in 1979. Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, SGG aims to inspire and nurture future generations to become progressive global citizens by providing a platform for girls to develop to their fullest potential.