MBRF and MoE launch Arabic writing competition

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) and the Ministry of Education have announced the launch of the 'Qesaty' (Arabic for My Story) competition to promote Arabic language and culture among secondary and preparatory level school students and school staff in the UAE.
The MBRF initiative was launched at a press conference during the Nobel Museum Exhibition at Children's City in Dubai creek Park, with Minister of Education Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi and MBRF Managing Director Jamal bin Huwaireb.
The competition is part of the Dubai International Program for Writing in the Youth Category, which introduces students of various ages to various forms of writing.
"The 'Qesaty' competition reflects the ministry's keenness to protect and preserve Arabic language as our identity in the modern world. This initiative is also aligned to the vision and guidance of our wise leadership to preserve Arabic language and literature in the fields of arts and sciences and uphold our culture and history," Hussain Al Hammadi said.
He added that the Qesaty competition will be a way in which to target talented students and inspire them to continue developing their writing abilities, especially in the field of short stories.
Jamal bin Huwaireb, for his part, said the decision is in line with the 2016 Year of Reading declared by President His Highness Shaik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and with the MBRF's efforts to raise awareness about the importance of the Arabic language and Arabic literature.
The literary works in the competition will be selected by a committee of leading experts in the field through the joint cooperation of MBRF and the Ministry of Education. The terms and conditions and the application process will be explained through the websites www.moe.gove.ae and www.qesaty.ae. The competition offers 10 prizes for the winners, seven of them for students, and the other three for teachers and administrators, in both the Preparatory and Secondary levels.
The participants to the competition are required to write a short story based on events related to UAE heritage. The assessment will take into account the technical construction of the story, and the language elements, including narration and dialogue. MBRF will organise training sessions for the participants in the competition, led by qualified experts. The Foundation will also publish the winning works and support the writers in their journey of writing.