IT wiz kid adds his byte to road safety drive

Unlike other students of his age, Bishoy Magdy Shenoda, 12, likes to pursue a different kind of passion.

“He loves playing with electronic gadgets and he loves making short videos,” said Bishoy’s father Magdy Shenoda. “I noticed that about him when he was very young. His IT skills are so good that even his school IT staff ask him for advice.”

Perhaps that is why the Egyptian schoolboy’s 15-second video on road safety is so impressive.

A student of Winchester School, Dubai, Bishoy’s short videoon road safety shot with Lego characters has drawn a lot of attention on Instagram, the picture/video sharing website where it is posted. Bishoy represented his school and made the video as part of the social media awareness campaign launched by Dubai Police.

One of the 240 videos posted under the Instagram handle #SMARTSECURITY, Bishoy’s clip opens with a Lego character trying to skateboard in the middle of the road. The character, because he is not careful, crashes into a truck.

“The rest of the video highlights the importance of road safety,” said Bishoy. “The idea for the video came from the Lego kit my school provided for this purpose. I shot the video using an i-Pad and edited it as well. First I built the cars, Lego people, and all other props required for the video.”

The awareness campaign also features videos on other themes like cyber bullying, ‘Say no to drugs’ and ‘Don’t drink and drive’.

According to Bishoy and his father, road safety is a subject that needs to be addressed among the youth, especially because the younger generation has a tendency to drive recklessly.

“The school chose me for the project mainly because I am pretty good with IT and editing techniques,” added Bishoy. “I am really curious about the winning entries. I did the whole video at home and would love to take part in more such contests.”

Bishoy’s father, a mechanical engineer by profession, said his son did not require anyone’s help to make the video: “I was in Saudi Arabia when he started working on it. It took him about a week to put the video together. He did the whole thing on his own. It is really interesting to see what he has done. My younger son is more interested in football and sports, whereas Bishoy is very much interested in electronics. He is always reading stuff about IT.

“Road safety is very important in Dubai and people have to follow the safety instructions set by the Dubai Police.”

Bishoy and his parents are looking forward to the results of the competition.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com