Dubai: The first three-day Back to School event was officially opened by Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, yesterday, attracting children, parents and teachers to its various exhibition stalls at Al Meydan Grandstand.
On its first day, the Back to School event which was launched for the very first time at the start of this school year, opened its doors at 10am to hundreds of school children from across the UAE.
Students from schools which attended the event were able to enjoy a whole day of fun by engaging in several interactive and educational activities.
The exhibition, which was supported by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Ministry of Education, is expected to attract 10,000 visitors over the weekend.
Christine Weaver, Exhibition Manager for Back to School, said the concept of this event is not to promote the traditional sense of education such as studying or improving literacy skills, but instead its interactive theme enables parents and children to learn together.
“The range of stalls and activities encourages children to come, do, learn, and play,” she said adding that the stalls cover different aspects such as road safety, nutrition, technology, and fun trips.
Children at the event were also given a booklet where they followed a treasure map by stopping at different stalls to unfold the answer to several questions.
“Learning is more effective when conducted through play,” said Weaver explaining that the exhibition allows both children and parents to learn about new hobbies, activities, awareness campaigns, animal welfare and healthy living.
At the event, parents were also given the opportunity to talk to experts in different areas. “Parents are able to talk to people they wouldn’t usually get access to, such as experts in nutrition, sport trainers, dieticians, and safety experts,” said Weaver.
Sharrah Kapadia, account executive of Total communications, also said that the event was organised with the intention of having a fun day out for both parents and children in order to lighten up the atmosphere of going back to school.
The exhibition featured a variety of companies such as Live’ly, Reader’s paradise, Road and Transport Authority (RTA), and Dubai electricity and Water Authority DEWA each addressing key parenting issues and offering a range of activities.
Live’ly, the health and nutrition Lounge participating at the event, focused their stall on the importance of healthy eating among high school children at school and at home. The launch of their Hi-School Live’ly Youth Programme promotes nutritious meals for youngsters and adolescents.
“The programme offers the perfect meal programme for school canteens and encourages healthy eating,” said Tina Choueiri Chagoury chief clinical officer at Live’ly.
Reader’s Paradise, the virtual online library also had a stall where visitors were able to join their website and better understand the services available.
The library offers 15,000 books for adults and children as well as a free book delivery service to different parts of the UAE including Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain.
Rashr Punjabi, managing director of Reader’s paradise, said that while the concept of an online library wasn’t available before in the UAE, Reader’s Paradise encourages the youth as well as adults to take up reading. “When the adults read, the children start to read too,” she added emphasising the importance of reading among both parents and their children.
Road safety was also highlighted by RTA and Emirates Transport at the event. Children engaged in activities and watched a series of demonstrations on the importance of zebra crossing outside schools and traffic safety measures on the road.
At their stall, DEWA also raised awareness about their conservation award which promotes the preservations of natural resources and teaches children about consumption behaviour.
Children and parents were given brochures on how to reduce electricity and water consumption levels in Dubai through rational utility consumption practices at school and at home.
The Back to School event is taking place from September 13 to 15 and is open from 12 noon to 9pm on Friday, and from 12 noon to 8pm on Saturday.
