Dubai: Two winners in a British Council poetry competition are likely to have the honour of reciting their poems for Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh when they visit the UAE this month.
The competition has been launched to celebrate the friendship and partnership between the United Kingdom and the UAE.
"Poetry has a long artistic tradition in both the UK and UAE and offers the perfect vehicle to bridge cultural differences, to exchange ideas and to deepen understanding," Richard Cotton, UAE Country Director for the British Council, said.
Arabic or English
The competition will be an opportunity for aspiring poets to showcase their talents. The poems that are entered can be written in Arabic or English, by entrants between 12 and 16 years old.
Arabic poems are open only to UAE nationals, and English poems are open to British nationals who are resident in the UAE.
Entries in Arabic are encouraged to be in the Nabati style of traditional poetry. Poems will be judged on literary merit and how well they express the concept of partnership and friendship between the UK and the UAE.
