Dubai Public Library’s summer activities host over 7,000 participants

The ‘Our Summer is All About Arts & Culture’ initiative, organised by the Dubai Public Library, hosted over 7,000 participants including young children, teenagers, and adults, who took part in over 130 activities including training sessions, educational sessions, and dedicated workshops. 

The Dubai Public Library, owned by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage, awarded the participants of the three workshops with certificates, in appreciation of their effort and enthusiasm to learn. Over 80 per cent of the participants were children between the ages of 4 and 12 from more than 35 schools across Dubai, while the rest was teenagers, aged 13 to 17, and adults. The educational programmes were marked by a multifaceted approach to learning, and aimed at the personal development of the participants. 

Abdulrahman Younes, Acting Director of the Dubai Public Library Department, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “The success of the summer activities reinforces the commitment of Dubai Public Libraries to offer new avenues for information sharing and strengthening the knowledge resources of the community.  The event integrated education with fun, and its success is also attributed to the various entities and organisations that helped in organizing the training and educational activities and the workshops.” 

Amongst the most popular activities were the first aid and fire safety workshops as well as the Calligraphy sessions that focused on three styles including Al Naseh, Al Diwani, and Al Riqqah.  Workshops on cultural identity and heritage also proved to be popular. 

The Dubai Public Library also hosted three reading programmes, which was executed as the initial phase of ‘The Young Reader’ project, which will eventually be inculcated in several schools in the city. The reading programmes titled ‘small young author,’ ‘love of reading,’ and ‘love for books’ were positively received by children and parents alike. 

The libraries also marked the Mid Sha’aban celebrations by distributing tote bags with traditional sweets, raw peanuts, and salted chickpeas to the participants. The summer activities were held at Al Twar Public Library, Hor Al Anz Public Library, Al Rashidya Public Library, Al Safa Public Library, Umm Suqueim Electronic Library, and Hatta Public Library.