Dubai A second cultural centre, part of the Heritage Week celebrations, was inaugurated by Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, yesterday.
Housed within the Al Kuwait Primary School premises, the centre is part of the three planned heritage hubs in public schools by Dubai Culture, and are aimed to give young people a spirit of national identity through understanding the UAE's heritage.
The first centre was opened in December at Al Hudaiba Primary School and the third is scheduled to open in a couple of months at another public school.
The centre gives a taste of Emirati lifestyle in various traditional contexts such as livelihood and clothing. It includes areesh (traditional sunshade made of palm leaves), henna stations, crafts and, during the opening, it had live sword dancing and ayala performances by pupils dressed in traditional clothing.
Awareness
The cultural centres play an integral role in strengthening awareness of UAE heritage among the youth, said Fatima Lootah, manager of Heritage Projects from Dubai Culture.
She said: "This generation of students isn't aware of our heritage. They need to be taught and made aware of our rich tradition before it disappears. Through the centre, we hope to teach them about various facets of Emirati life from making a burqa to using bakhoor and the use of a barasti."
Elaborating on the concept, she said: "The idea for the centres came about because there was a need to preserve our heritage. I am a [history] teacher by profession, and I realised that students need to be exposed to this form of learning early on. We plan to introduce more centres in the future."
The centre also hopes to connect curricula with practical application, said Thuraya Hamad Eisa Al Mahary, principal of Al Kuwait Primary School. She said: "The existing curriculum touches aspects of heritage through subjects like Islamic Studies and National Development, but we wanted to connect ‘book learning' to something that is tangible. We invite other schools to visit our centre and learn. The objective is to instil the spirit of our tradition early on."
Learning
She explained that an area within the school has been transformed into a cultural journey with the help of students, teachers and parents. "The seafaring tradition, housing, teaching approach, way of braiding hair, planting and cultivation, embroidery, etc are all here for students to learn. When students participate in such activities, they understand our history even better."
Heritage Week celebrations, organised to mark World Heritage Day yesterday, will continue under the theme ‘Dubai: Live Our Heritage'.
