UAEBBY honours winners of ‘Creative Writing Competition’

The board received 74 entries for the competition from across the UAE, from 34 male students and 40 female students, with 16 entries in the age group of 6 to 9 years, 21 entries in the age group of 10 to 12 years, and 37 entries in the age group of 13 to 18 years.

Saif Ahmed Jalal Shaaban, a seventh-grade student at Al Iman Private School in Abu Dhabi, received the award from Dr. Alyazia Khalifa, member of UAEBBY Advisory Board, for his story “My Special Octopus” in the 12-19 years old category. 

Majd Al Shehhi, member of UAEBBY, honoured Zayed Ahmed Al Zaabi, third-grade student at Al Ittihad Private School, Jumeirah branch in Dubai, for his story “Alien Help Call” in the 6-9 years old category. 

Marwa Al Aqroubi, President of UAEBBY, honoured Maryam Khaled Mohammed, tenth-grade student at Falaj Al Mualla Girls Secondary School in Umm Al Quwain, for her story “Lifebuoy”, in the 13-18 years old category. 

Marwa Al Aqroubi expressed her happiness with the level of interaction with the "Creative Writing" competition by the UAE children and young people, who presented beautiful stories that reflect their literary talents and writing skills, and highlight their ability to imagine many ideas and transform them into written texts, which heralds a new generation of talents, some of whom will have a significant role in the field of creative writing and enter the world of publishing.

The judging committee for this year's edition of the competition included writer Noura Al Khoury, and editor Manal Mahjoub, at "Kalimat Group"; and writer and illustrator Fatima Al Ameri. 

The winner in each category received a cash prize of three thousand (3000) Emirati dirhams, a set of valuable books and stories, a certificate of appreciation, in addition to publishing the winning stories on UAEBBY website.

In 2013, UAEBBY launched the “Read, Dream, Create” campaign to bring children and books closer, promote and enhance the importance of reading among all members of the UAE community, especially children, and support the abilities of children and young people to read, write, innovate and create, by motivating them to read and develop their skills in story writing, to transform their ideas into well-written stories. 

The campaign organises many events, including reading sessions in schools and public places, and an annual writing competition.