Abu Dhabi: A total of 37 educators, programmes and institutions were honoured and awarded as the true drivers of growth in the Arab World in the capital on Thursday.
The honourees were the 2015-2016 winners of the prestigious Khalifa Award for Education, which is currently in its ninth cycle.
The yearly prize seeks to honour educators and projects that promote knowledge development and innovations.
Speaking at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and chairman of the Khalifa Awards’ board of trustees, stressed the importance of education to build and improve resources for the future.
“It is education that helps enrich the true wealth of our nation, its people,” he said.
The award was given in 12 categories, including educational personality of the year, educational innovation, public education, special needs education, education for a sustainable environment, education and community service, higher education, educational research, educational authoring, new media, creativity in teaching Arabic and innovative projects.
Winners received a trophy, a certificate of excellence and a cash prize. A total of Dh3.6 million was handed out as monetary gifts in this edition of the award.
“The quality of our award winners continues to improve year upon year,” said Amal Al Afifi, the award’s secretary general.
Saeed Bin Ahmad Al Lootah, prominent Dubai businessman and education innovator, was recognised as this year’s educational personality. The awarding committee noted his lifelong dedication to knowledge and Islamic finance, and his establishment of a number of institutions to promote them, including the Dubai Medical College for Girls, the Dubai Specialised Medical Centre and Research Labs and the Dubai Islamic Bank.
A number of other dignitaries were also in attendance at the ceremony, including Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, and Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, director general of the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
Gulf News spoke to some of the winners
Nafla Al Khateri
Growing up, Nafla Al Khateri couldn’t find a teacher who could engage her.
“I couldn’t find out about the things I was interested in, and this felt like a loss of opportunity for me. So I wanted to become an educator who would captivate the attention of my pupils,” Al Khateri, 35, a teacher of Arabic literature at Ras Al Khaimah’s Al Sabahya Secondary School for more than 14 years, told Gulf News.
She was awarded for her innovative methods of teaching Arabic literature. For example, she encouraged her pupils to stage sections of her lessons as plays.
“I always ask my pupils what they hope to gain from the lesson, and keep the lesson active and challenging. Winning this award today is a motivator for me to continue to inspire my pupils,” said Al Khateri.
Khalifa Al Nuaimi
Math may be a tough subject to comprehend, but Khalifa Al Nuaimi believes in making it relatable.
“I like making math enjoyable, even easy,” Al Nuaimi told Gulf News. “For example, I show the relevance of percentages by telling my pupils about store sales, and the importance of decimals by displaying grocery prices,” he explained.
The public school teacher, who teaches sixth grade boys at Al Tamayyuz School is also head of faculty.
“More and more children are beginning to understand math,” Al Nuaimi said.
With a Masters in Educational Leadership, Al Nuaimi hopes to transform math education in Abu Dhabi, as well as pursue a doctorate in education innovation.
“Most of all, I want to keep up to date with the educational advances, so that our pupils won’t be left behind,” he said.
Dr Muna Al Awadi
Muna Al Awadi has had a lifelong passion for education, and her initiatives have helped propel art education and special programmes for gifted students in the Arab World.
She was awarded for research in promoting fine arts curricula in Oman, where she works as an assistant professor at the Sultan Qaboos University.
“In the past, there was much less focus on research. But we need students to investigate, analyse and deduce links that can help improve the quality of education in our countries,” Al Awadi told Gulf News.
“But I am hopeful, as today’s children have access to much more information and resources than we did,” she added.
Al Awadi, an educator for more than 35 years, is planning to organise workshops for further professional development of teachers.
Dr Ahmad Al Jefri
A qualified haematology consultant at King Khaled National Guard Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Dr Al Jefri, awarded for educational authoring, loves to read.
In a bid to spread his passion for the written word while also educating children, the doctor is now leading a project that will discuss various diseases using kid-friendly stories. He has already written a book for pre-teens that details a child’s journey from living in a village to the city.
“There are many reasons why Arab children do not read enough, but a major one is that there isn’t enough good content available. But we do have valuable stories to tell, and this is what I am hoping to show,” said Dr Al Jefri.
