A leadership summit for women by students

Students from various schools do creative artwork during the Young Women's Leadership Summit at the GEMS English High School in Dubai on Saturday.

"There should be no reason for a woman to not achieve whatever she sets her mind on," said Greeshma Unnikrishnan, Assistant Head Girl of Our Own English High School, Dubai (Al Warqa). A grade 11 student of the school, Unnikrishnan and Neha Reji John, the literary captain and Grade 12 student was playing host to journalists speaking to them about the changes brought about by the fourth annual Young Women's Leadership Summit.
Hosted by the school on Saturday, the day-long summit saw a participation of over 12 schools. The central theme of the event basically supports and encourages young women to be independent, follow their dreams, and take valuable life lessons from successful women in various fields in the UAE.
"It's a women for women concept.We brought in four women who are pioneers in their fields to speak to the girls and teachers attending the summit. This is a fixed feature for the summit," said Manju Cherian, Supervisor for Grade 12 students.
She added: "However, in 2012, the summit started out a competition where students debated on pressing issues related to women's empowerment."
This year Iman Ben Chaibah, founder and editor of e-Sail magazine; Farah al Qaissieh, founder of Stutter with a Smile; Safia Bari, founder of Special Needs Families; and Saima Khan, UN Ambassador and Grade 12 student of Our Own Dubai were called as panelists of the event.
"The chief guest is Premi Mathew of the Protect your Mom and Hair for Hope initiative," said Cherian.
The main objective of the event is to get the girls to interact with these women and learn from their experiences, added Cherian.
She added that since the launch of the event few years ago, there has been a wider participation from the girls and there is also increased awareness about issues faced by women. In the last year, the summit became a forum where students were given the creative freedom and the liberties to express themselves.
"It is a platform where we can exchange ideas and discuss various women's issues using different mediums of art and debate," added Reji John.
The girls are encouraged to use various mediums such as, video presentations, short documentaries, group dances, art, mimes, skits, and news reporting to express themselves.
They are mentored by experts in the various fields. While the group discussions are essentially heated debates about various women's issues, the girls were divided into groups and were given the creative freedom to choose their medium of choice For example, Rami Elzaghawy, a mural and graffiti artist based in Dubai was in the school on Saturday, mentoring the girls on how to draw human faces without reservations.
"I've given the girls complete free reign on what colours they can use to express themselves. They are using soft pastels which is very feminine, yet a very bright form of artistic expression. It is exciting to see what they are coming up with," Rami told Khaleej Times.
Girls from Our Own English High School, Sharjah, Al Ain, and Fujairah; Abu Dhabi Indian School, GEMS Modern Academy, the Millennium School, Our Own Indian School, Al Khail; Millennium School Dubai; Sharjah Indian School; and Al Khaleej National School were among the participating schools.
Jasleen Sohil (16), a student of Our Own English High School, Fujairah said: "I am participating in the documentary making feature, where my team mate and I are making a short film on 'Message to my Future Self'," said Sohil.
Her class mare Linu George said: "It is basically a time capsule that encourages women and gives them the freedom to be whatever they want to be."
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

• dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com