Culture & Education | Sunday 1 April, 2018 3:23 am |

The 13th edition of the Sharjah Arab Children Forum, organized by Sharjah Children of Rubu' Qarn for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators, came to an end with a closing ceremony at Sharjah Girl Guides that featured folklore shows from around the Arab world, as well as a number of other cultural exchange initiatives and workshops for the 128 children from ten Arab countries who attended this year’s edition.

Held from 24-28 March, this year’s edition, was held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Rubu' Qarn for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators.

The ceremony kicked off with the National anthem of the UAE followed by a speech by Aysha Ali Al Kaabi, Acting Director of Sharjah Children (SC) and Chairperson of the forum’s Higher Organising Committee. She said: “Dear guests from beloved Arab countries, we were pleased to meet you all in the land of Sharjah. In this forum, you have interacted with the children of our country, the United Arab Emirates, with whom you have agreed on necessity of uniting our Arab nation to face the obstacles and achieve our hopes.

“On behalf of all of you, I thank Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Rubu' Qarn for Creating Future Leaders and Innovators, and His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the patrons of childhood from all over the Arab countries.”

Then, the screening of a short film ‘Hear us…. We are the Future’ was played, the film highlighted some of the achievements and activities at this year’s event. The children then presented folklore shows which represented their countries.

The Kuwaiti delegation presented a dance show in traditional costumes about the past and present of their country while Bahrain participated with a musical play that teaches other delegations about their country.

The delegation from Comoros sang folklore songs and taught the other delegations their local proverbs while the Omani delegation enacted a scene about the respect for identity and presented a poem by Sultan Qaboos.

The delegations from Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Egypt and Sudan presented different lyrical shows representing the folklore of each country while the UAE delegation performed poetry on Sheikh Zayed and Year of Zayed.

The 128 children from 10 Arab countries then participated in the ‘My Talent My Passion’ initiative, a series of different workshops organized in cooperation with Sharjah Girl Guides which tested social intelligence as well as linguistic, emotional, logical and personal skills. They also took part in a communication marathon, where questions were addressed to each delegation about other delegations’ cultures, in order to exchange cultures among children and increase the loyalty of each child to his country.

Over the course of the Forum, the children had adopted the Seppo platform, a fun educational electronic programme for learning and information. The winning teams overall were announced at the ceremony, after being judged on correct answers, accomplished tasks and good team spirit.

An honoring ceremony was also held for sponsors including Sharjah Media Corporation, The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sharjah Government Media Bureau, Sharjah Girl Guides, Sharjah Investment & Development Authority – Shurooq, Cultural Palace, Sharjah Ladies Club, The Big Heart Foundation, Sharjah Police, Sharjah City Municipality, Watani Al Emarat Foundation, The Sharjah Development Forum, Administration of Sharjah Youth, Sharjah Museums Authority, Sharjah Roads & Transport Authority, Sharjah Women Sports Foundation, The Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood Anfasac Dokhoon, Sharjah International Children's Film Festival, ARAQY - Emirati Artisan Chocolatier and Seba Med, Air Arabia, Local Cookies and Triangle Bites.

The forum, which focused on areas such as sustainability, recycling, environmental conservation, renewable energy and health as well as the importance of Arab unity, family, cooperation and team spirit, was a great success with the children who attended.

Salama Saif Khalifa from the UAE said: “Sharjah Arab Children Forum taught me a lot and refined my personality. Even though I am used to meeting children from different countries in the UAE, my experience at the forum gave me the opportunity to make friends with Arab children who come to the UAE for the first time and carry more of their cultures and traditions. I know that Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi advises the children of the forum stay in touch with each other so that our countries can be united, so I will stay in touch with my new friends.”

"I have heard about the Sharjah Arab Children's Forum and decided to participate because I loved its idea," said Mariam Ahmed Abu Ain, from Palestine. "I liked the idea of ​​meeting Arab children from different backgrounds to learn about their dialects, cultures and traditions. And I could see that all the Arab children are harmonious and sympathetic to each other in affiliation and love that emphasizes that the forum instilled in them the belief in the importance of synergy and communication between Arab countries.”

Rana Abdullah Ibrahim from Saudi Arabia said: "I have learned a lot about the history of the UAE and Sharjah, and I learned that the UAE was united thanks to the founding father Sheikh Zayed, and I attended workshops about the rulers of the UAE and the founding father and his noble manners. That's why I loved Sheikh Zayed a lot because he made the UAE what it is now, a beautiful and civilized country that supports children.”