World Poetry Day 2021-1617002567143
The competition is open to all students in the UAE aged eight to 18 years old. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: International Schools Partnership (ISP) has launched a student poetry contest across the UAE.

The group, which has four schools in the country (The Aquila School, Nibras International School, Aspen Heights British School and Reach British School) has invited students to submit original poems written about the UAE, for the opportunity to win scholarships of up to 50 per cent on tuition fees at its schools. The competition is being held to celebrate World Poetry Day, which was on March 21.

The competition is open to all students in the UAE aged eight to 18 years old. Students already enrolled in ISP schools are also invited to submit poems about their school. The deadline for submission is May 31.

Tributes to the UAE

Bharat Mansukhani, Regional Managing Director — Middle East, ISP, said: “We recognise that poetry can play an important part in a developing a child’s language skills. It encourages creative expression and offers a deeper understanding of sound, rhythm and the use of emotion in language. Furthermore, with the UAE marking 2021 as the ‘Year of the 50th’, we encourage students from all schools to share with us their poems about this country we all call home.”

Video release

The launch of the competition was commemorated with a video release of two original poems written about the UAE. The Arabic poem entitled ‘Tolerance Sails’ has been written by Musab Biroutieh, award-winning author and Arabic teacher at The Aquila School. The English poem entitled ‘Home’ was written by UAE-based ‘Insta poet’ Alisha Patel, whose work was most recently recognised with her collaboration with Italian luxury menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna.

For more details on the competition, a list of rules and regulations, and how to get your child involved, please visit the International Schools Partnership website.