Dubai, UAE; September 8, 2022: Driven by its strategic vision to ignite passion for knowledge and foster reading, research and creativity among all groups of society, the Mohammed bin Rashid Library (MBRL) organized, throughout the month of August, a special series of recreational and educational events and workshops, which have seen remarkable engagement with the participation of around 500 students and visitors of all ages and all segments of society.

Emirati Women’s Day
In celebration of the Emirati Women's Day, MBRL hosted the “Spirit of the Place” event with the participation of Emirati poet, artist, and film director Nujoom Al Ghanem, and Emirati lawyer Nadia Abdul Razaq, a distinguished private sector figure who founded her own company. The event kicked off with a panel discussion moderated by Emirati journalist Alia Bujsaim.

During the session, Al Ghanem highlighted her experience in the world of art and cinema, her success on the global stage, and the most prominent challenges she has faced in this field. She also touched on her successful endeavours to break the stereotypes of women in Emirati society. On her part, Emirati lawyer Nadia Abdul Razaq shared her experience in the UAE courts, taking on a position previously reserved to men, facing all the challenges of this profession at the time, and ultimately succeeding in establishing her own company.

Poetry & Music
Among other events, MBRL organized a poetry reading event under the title “Poetry Hour”, with the participation of a select group of Emirati poets. To the sound of gentle oud melodies, participants recited a collection of poems that varied between descriptive, love, praise, pride, emotional revelation poetry, amongt others. With poems ranging between eloquent and Nabati poetry and Rap, the event saw the participation of several Emirati poets, including: Dr. Talal Al Junaibi; the brilliant poet Abdullah Al Hediya Al Shehhi; Sheikha Al Mutairi, who presented the event; Dr. Aisha Al Shamsi, and poet Amal Al Sahlawi. The participants dazzled the audience with their wonderful poetic imagery, harmony between playing and recitation, as well as highlighting some of their collections and poems.

Moreover, MBRL hosted the “Nagham wa Kalimat” (Melodies & Lyrics) musical soiree, during which the Nagham Ensemble band played a collection of Arabic songs and compositions, while the Jolly Trio band played some tracks for world-class musicians amidst significant interaction from library visitors.

Workshops
In addition, the library organized the “Story Writing” workshop for youth, which focused on explaining the fundamentals of story writing under the supervision of writer Fatima Al Mazrouei. The event also provided an introduction to story, its types, its origin as a literary genre, and the basic elements that make up a story such as conflict, setting (time and place), character, theme and plot. On day two, the workshop explained means of building a story and allowed for some practical application, during which trainees took their first steps into the world of story writing.

Over the course of a two-day “Arabic Calligraphy” workshop, Emirati calligrapher Fatima Jouri gave an overview of the basic fonts and their many types in our Arabic language. She also taught the trainees how to make the Kufic script template using some engineering tools.

Back to School
On the occasion of returning to schools, MBRL organized two workshops, the first of which covered the rapid mental calculation theme, which was chosen in view of its importance in enhancing the ability to solve mathematical problems mentally by understanding counting theories. The second workshop focused on teaching robotics, building and programming LEGO robots, through some competitive tasks among the trainees using visual programming blocks.

An embodiment of the harmony between the different cultures in Dubai, the library also hosted the first of its kind “Visitor Talents” event, which attracted more than 30 creative talents of various nationalities in the fields of arts and music. The event included playing musical pieces on piano, oud, violin, and guitar; while the library allocated a corner for painting and arts, where the participating artists drew beautiful paintings that reflected their wonderful artistic taste.

Commendation of Events 
The visitors and students participating in these activities praised the great role played by MBRL in nurturing the cultural scene and movement, and the qualitative knowledge experiences it offers thanks to its unique content accommodating all groups of society. They also commended the library's efforts to provide the latest knowledge and skills, emphasizing their keenness to constantly follow up on the library's activities schedule and to register in the workshops that suit them.

These events are part of the MBRL year-round plan to encourage reading and inquiry, support talented and creative people in all fields, and attract citizens and residents from all segments of society, especially since they constitute an integral part of the cultural and artistic movement, which is considered an essential pillar in building civilization and advancing society towards further development and progress.
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