Dubai: The world's brightest youngsters are all set to meet in Dubai this July with the city playing host to a global academic initiative focusing on education and developing the capabilities of gifted children.
It is the first time the event, the 12th edition of the Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness, is being held in the Middle East. It is held every two years in a member state that successfully bids to host the event.
"Giftedness 2012 is a scientific forum and a gathering of the brightest minds from across the globe with their educators, parents, administrators and professors," Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, UAE Minister of Education, said in a statement yesterday.
"Gifted children are brilliant minds with specific expectations if not challenging demands," he said, adding that the event is a timely tool to assess the readiness of the UAE and the region to implement long-term strategies to hone superlative academic talent.
"Giftedness 2012's objective is to create educational benchmarks for our gifted youth, to build a knowledge centre to identify nurture, develop, protect and support individuals whose intellectual uniqueness and innate predispositions hinder their social well-being," Al Qutami said.
Organisational support
The event will be held from July 14 to 18 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, under the theme ‘Nurturing talent, growing potential.'
Organised by the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance, the event will be held under the supervision and the guidelines of the Asia-Pacific Federation on Giftedness, a non-profit organisation for the development and education of gifted and talented children in the Asia-Pacific region.
Nurture
"UAE has positioned itself as one of the driving forces behind raising the standards and quality of education across the Middle East, at all levels, and we are quick to realise that the gifted minds of young children require special tools to help nurture their talents, ensure their happiness and grow their intellectual acumen," Dr Jamal Al Muhairi, secretary-general of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance and president of the supreme committee for Giftedness 2012, said at a press conference yesterday.
The event will include a conference, a children and youth summit, workshops and site visits, with the participation of over 2,000 people from around the world, he said. It will see the participation of experts in education and psychology besides scientists and innovators in the fields of science, literature, mathematics and music.
