There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
"I want my child to be fluent in Mandarin," the parent of a 10-something-old told me a few weeks ago. "She'll thank me when she grows up. China is the world's most populous country, one of the fastest growing markets, and that's where the world's biggest spenders will continue to come from," she said with a certain amount of certainty that made me doubt my own parenting skills and sincerity. After all, I'd not thought of that logic before it was laid threadbare in front of me. I always thought that a global language would suffice in an increasingly globalised world. And that India will be the world's most populous in under 10 years.
Anyway, that isn't the point - it is that, as parents, it's our responsibility to ensure that our kids are ready for the future that awaits them. In that light, I'm glad that a meaningful first step has just been taken in the UAE towards addressing the biggest elephant in the futuristic room: climate change. A school in Dubai has become the first in the country to appoint a climate change teacher (yes, there is such a thing now). This has been possible thanks to the accreditation offered by the new UN Climate Change Teacher Academy for primary and secondary school teachers. It's high time we had such a programme of study for our kids - they will need all the preparation and awareness we can afford to give them to counter the mess that we're packaging as a legacy for them.
To be fair, with its Sustainable Schools initiative, the UAE took the lead as far back as 2009 to include sustainability in the curricula in select Abu Dhabi schools. That programme was later extended to cover all UAE schools. Knowledge is power, and by making our kids aware of climate change, we'll be guiding them on the road to finding a solution to this menace. It won't be too far-fetched to say that, when it comes to teaching climate change to our kids, all UAE parents speak the same language.
There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
Salama Alfalacy is into realistic art featuring landscapes and wildlife, while Meera Jamal Al Midfa is setting new grounds in performance art and filmmaking
arts11 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport11 hours ago
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
asia12 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport12 hours ago
The former all-rounder has returned to cricket during the past year after a horrific car crash at the end of 2022
cricket13 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
emergencies13 hours ago
The country has set a new Guinness World Record by creating the largest falcon hood, beating the previous record of 1.65 metres
uae14 hours ago