Dubai: The second Cultural Centre, part of the ongoing Heritage Week celebrations, was inaugurated by Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture on Wednesday.
Housed within the Al Kuwait Primary School premises, the centre is part of the three planned heritage hubs in public schools by Dubai Culture aimed to imbue the young with a spirit of national identity through the understating of the UAE's heritage.
The first centre was opened in December at Al Hudaibiah Primary School and the third is scheduled to open in a couple of months at another public school.
The centre comprises replicas of Emirati lifestyle in various traditional contexts, including livelihood and attire. It has Areesh tents, henna stations, traditional crafts, and during the opening, it had live sword dancing and ayala performances by students dressed in traditional clothing.
The Cultural Centres play an integral role in strengthening awareness of UAE heritage among youth, said Fatima Lootah, Manager of Heritage Projects from Dubai Culture.
She told Gulf News, "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 teacher [history] 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 is also aimed to be connect curricula with practical application said Thuraya Hamad Eissa Al Mahary, the Principal of the Al Kuwait Primary School.
She told Gulf News, "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."
She explained that an area within the school has been transformed into a cultural journey with the help of students, teachers and parents. "The sea faring 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 will continue under the theme ‘Dubai: Live Our Heritage,' and are organised to mark the World Heritage Day on April 18.
