Dubai: The American University in Dubai (AUD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Cultural and Scientific Association, is organising a short story contest for grade 12 students in public and private schools to write a fictional tale of life in the UAE set 50 years in the future.
The contest is open to UAE nationals and resident students. AUD president Dr David A. Schmidt said: “The competition supports the country’s year of preparation for the visionary UAE Centennial Plan 2071 and aims to support the future generation, to discover their talents, and to support their careers as future writers.”
Arabic or English
The number of words should be at least 600, and not more than 1,200 words. The story can be written in Arabic or English and should not have been previously published. The deadline for receiving entries is February 1, 2021, and the results will be announced on March 15, 2021.
The first-prize winner will receive a scholarship at AUD, and the top three winners will receive other valuable prizes. Entries should be sent, along with the student name, school name, and telephone number to: [email protected].
There has been a recent drive to involve students in planning the UAE’s coming decades of progress. Last month, the Ministry of Education launched its ‘50×50 Initiative’ to involve students in designing the components of the country’s comprehensive development plan for the next 50 years, in cooperation with the ‘Preparation for 50 Committee’ for ‘Designing the Next 50’ project.
Involving students
The ministry’s initiative focuses on involving students in the plan, by exploring their views, aspirations, ideas and development suggestions on vital topics. Around 50,000 students representing all academic stages from over 1,200 public and private schools will participate in 1,000 virtual interactive workshops, with 50 students taking part in each workshop.