Camp held to encourage innovative generation

The Public Libraries Department of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) launched the ‘Our Summer is Art & Culture’ summer camp under the theme of ‘Innovation’ to encourage and build an innovative generation for the future that possesses the tools for leadership and is knowledgeable about programming, designing, and artificial intelligence.

The first and second iterations of the camp respectively hosted the ‘Young Innovators Programme’ for children between the ages of 6 and 9 and the ‘Future Pioneers Programme’ for children between the ages of 10 and 12. A large number of children passionate about learning and instilled with a desire to explore attended the workshops, participating in various that took place across different Dubai Public Library branches, including Al Twar, Al Rashidiya, Al Mankhool, Hor Al Anz, Umm Suquim, and Hatta as well as at Etihad Museum Library and Al Safa Art & Design Library.

Children interacted and engaged with the first camp due to its rich content and diverse ideas. One of the workshops, ‘Your Town Between the Present and the Future,’ had participants learn about algorithms, logical thinking and programming, and how to create navigational maps — based on realistic examples from the city where they live — with Cubetto, a robot that can be controlled without computers.

Another workshop, ’Creating Motional Antiques,’ exposed children to artists and works of art on the internet, and had them select several paintings to present innovatively, breathing new life into them using electronics. Children also learned how to convert two-dimensional paintings into 3D forms using different artistic techniques to match the paintings they chose.

The ‘Start Your Artificial Intelligence Journey’ workshop allowed children to engage with several interactive activities, learning about artificial intelligence, robotics, and human interaction. Participants also took part in new activities that activated their curiosity in facial recognition and emotion detection using special robots, expanding their understanding of the role of artificial intelligence in our daily lives.

Finally, bringing the first camp to a wrap, the ‘Digital Art Programming’ workshop reflected children’s ability to skillfully blend art and technology by teaching them how to create digital art that reflected their creativity through programming.

As for the second summer camp, several fun workshops were also offered that had participants take part in a disassembly game and a hockey game in a maze.

As part of the camp, the creative writing workshop that falls under the ‘Future Pioneers Programme’ revealed the children’s outstanding talents, encouraging them to become prominent writers in the future. Participants learned about multiple styles of writing and the required elements to write a book. This workshop aims to create a creative generation with strong writing skills that would leave a strong mark on the world of literature.

The third and fourth camps will launch on 28 July with several activities and workshops — ‘Robots in Space Trip,’ ‘Robots in the Domestic Zoo,’ ‘Microscopic World,’ ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ and ‘Digital Collaborative Art’ among others — that will emphasise innovation and exploring the future.

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the UAE’s rich heritage.

The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures to enhance Dubai’s position as a creative and sustainable global city for culture, heritage, arts, and literature, with the aim to empower these sectors by developing creative and innovative projects and initiatives locally, regionally, and globally.

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority,Dubai Culture, announced the launch of its 100-Day Plan that seeks to develop various sectors under the overarching umbrella of the Authority’s strategy by advancing upon and improving the internal organisational framework at Dubai Culture. This is achieved by reviewing the list of projects, budgets, policies, and processes as well as developing the internal environment and creating a harmonious institutional culture among the Authority’s staff, in addition to launching a series of creative initiatives and setting well identified standards for measuring employee performance and project effectiveness.