Competition shows youth’s love for heritage

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

As many as 37 winners of the 5th edition of the ‘Al Mtwassf’ competition were honoured in a ceremony at Abu Hanifa Elementary School, Dubai.

The competition saw a huge number of participants from 41 schools comprising different nationalities, making the latest edition a huge success.

The students from different grades won in the 10 categories of the fifth edition of the ‘Descriptive Contest’ for the popular Emirati proverbs collection “Al Mtwassf – Proverbs and Adages from the UAE” written by Abdullah Bin Dalmouk.

The contest has been organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre (HHC) which aims to promote the cultural identity of the younger generation and linking it to its cultural and social heritage. The Centre has been collaborating with Dubai Educational Zone to complete the Quiz Competition. The ceremony was held to award the winners at the Abu Hanifa Elementary School Theatre in the Al Quoz area.

The event was attended by Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmouk, CEO of HHC, Mohammed Issa Al-Khumeiri, Consultant of the School Operations Sector, Saif Bin Hariz, Director of Research and Studies, Mohammed Abdullah Bin Dalmouk, Director of Institutional Support Department, Hind Bin Dumithan Al Qamzi, events manager, jury members, teachers, parents of students and faculty and administrative staff.

The competition is based on the book ‘Al Mtwassf’ written by Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmuk who spent many years in the investigation and collection of Emirati proverbs, explaining their meanings.

Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmouk honoured the teams of the competition, led by the supervisor of the competition Sharifa Ahmed Ali, and honoured the jury, Latifa Abdul Hadi Salem and Abdul Razzaq Hamdou Al Darbas, and then crowned the winners of the top ten in each category.

He stressed that “the heritage culture is present in the younger generations, through many events directed to young people and youth in particular, stressing that the competition aims to motivate students to absorb an important aspect of intangible cultural heritage.”

He pointed out that the country has been progressing based on adherence to heritage and inherited values, which are the product and fruit of the wisdom and values of parents and grandparents. These values and customs must be transferred to the youth through many means, including competitions, activities and heritage events.

He also expressed his great pride in the wide scale of the competition year after year and the increase in the number of participants. He expressed his happiness at seeing participants from other nationalities and citizens of the UAE. The Centre hopes to involve other cultures in its various activities to get acquainted with them. It also congratulates all the winners of the competition and wishes success to those who have not been lucky this year.

Bin Dalmouk praised the efforts of the teaching and administrative staff of the schools participating in the competition, the parents and the working teams concerned and the cooperating parties. He also thanked the Abu Hanifa School for organising and follow-up, emphasising the central role played by Hamdan Bin Mohammed Centre for Cultural Heritage to focus on the essence of the UAE heritage and to consolidate the values of the community, represented by poetry, literature and popular proverbs.

Fatima Saif Bin Hariz, Director of Research and Studies at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage, said, “Today we celebrate a national duty under the umbrella of a heritage competition launched by the Centre five years ago. We are proud to witness a significant increase in the number of students participating in the competition this year. With the participation of faculty, administrators and parents, to expand the space of the competition based on knowledge of popular proverbs of the UAE, thus raising the level of this initiative and fuelling the spirit of competition and the students to keep pace with the aspirations of the cultural, scientific and literary.”

In conclusion, the Director of Abu Hanifa School, Mrs Mariam Abdul Aziz Al Suwaidi, presented Abdullah Hamdan Bin Dalmouk with a commemorative shield in recognition of the constructive and vital role of the Centre in the preservation of the national heritage of the United Arab Emirates.