Sharjah: UAE schoolchildren piloted drones at Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) to learn the basics of aerodynamics.
The ‘Drone Experience’ workshop was led by ‘Fun Robotics’ trainers Omar and Najat. The workshop helped the students to explore the world of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), learn the concepts of aerodynamics and piloting, and to assemble and pilot the drone to fly and complete certain objectives around a fly circuit.
Emirati folk poetry
Also at SIBF, Emirati masters of rhyme Zayed Al Maisari and Abdullah Bin Salim Al Ketbi, presented the audience with some of their best works in UAE folk poetry.
The event, titled ‘Beacons’, saw the duo speak about ways they felt the ancient culture of Emirati folk poetry must be protected.
“We don’t mind it in any form – written text, spoken words, audio-visual, or others – but it must be done for our future generations,” said Al Maisari, while explaining how current social media habits have changed the way poems are consumed.
Al Ketbi recited his poem while narrating how he was inspired to write it when a girl at a poetry event told him that she had seven brothers but not even one knew her well.
Al Ketbi said: “I want to write about the beauty of the bond brothers and sisters share. Your sister is like your mother, and you must take care of her. Give her all the love, smile at her, sacrifice for her, give her the world. No one will remember except the sister you protected.”
Visit by top US librarian
Meanwhile, Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), welcomed Dr Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, USA, during her visit to SIBF at Expo Centre Sharjah.
Al Ameri emphasised that the participation of the US Library of Congress at SBA’s National Libraries Summit, and the three-day Sharjah International Library Conference (SILC), is a key opportunity to empower librarians in the region through knowledge exchange with the Library of Congress.
