Emirates Literature Foundation has announced that their competitions for schools are now open for 2023, celebrating champion readers, storytellers, poetry performers and the craft of fine handwriting. Students with a talent for poetry performance can showcase their interpretation of a favourite poem in the Emirates NBD sponsored ‘Poetry For All’, while young writers can show off their writing skills in the Oxford University Press Story Writing Competition and their beautiful penmanship in the Royal Grammar School (RGS) Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition. And schools can compete against each other in the Chevron Readers’ Cup to show who comes top with their knowledge and understanding of the selected books.
All competitions are open to full-time students and are held in Arabic and English.
Our competitions are a highlight on the school calendar. They are hugely popular with students, parents, and teachers. They allow young people the chance to expand their love of reading, create their own inspirational stories and wow the judges with their public speaking skills. Plus giving them the special opportunity to engage with a like-minded community that love and appreciate books and literature.
Isobel Abulhoul, CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation.
Participants can register online via the Emirates Literature Foundation’s website. The finals and award ceremonies for the competitions will be held during the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in February 2023.
Poetry For All
The Poetry For All competition, sponsored for the seventh consecutive year by Emirates NBD, is open to students across two age group categories, 8-13 and 14-18. This year, there is a new category that will be open to people of determination ages 8-18.
Performers compete in several preliminary rounds, with the grand finals held during the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in February 2023. Registration for the competition is open online until 17 October 2022 at Poetry for all Competition
Readers’ Cup
This is the eleventh year of the inter-school Readers’ Cup competition, which is sponsored by Chevron. The competition is divided into two age categories – Primary Schools (up to age 11) and Secondary Schools (ages 12-16). Teams are provided with books written by a variety of celebrated authors on which the quiz questions are based. After a virtual elimination round, the top 20 teams from each age category will advance to the final, battling for first place in a live ‘read-off’ held at the Festival.
Teams can register for the competition online at Elf Dubai Readers’ Cup. Registrations close on 5 October 2022.
The Children’s Letter Writing Competition
The RGS Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition gives young people the chance to show off their letter writing skills, celebrating both the aesthetic of fine handwriting and the art of composing a well-crafted message.
Letters should be written to an ‘old friend’ telling them about a book that you will always cherish. The competition is divided into four categories: Ages 8-10, 11-13, 14-18, and people of determination ages 8-18. Entries must be submitted before 5 December 2022. More information about the competition is available here Letter Writing Competition
Clare Turnbull, Principal at The Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai said:
We are thrilled to be sponsoring the RGS Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition for the second year in a row. We love that the competition gives young people the opportunity to delve into and explore their creative side through the wonderful world of words and as judges of the competition too, we cannot wait to see what compelling writing and interesting storytelling the entrants dream up this year.
The Story Writing Competition
Young storytellers have the chance to make their mark by entering the Story Writing Competition and draft their masterpieces inspired from the theme ‘Old Friends.’Entries are invited from full-time students in schools, colleges and universities in the UAE with the competition divided into age-specific categories: 11 and under, 12-14, 15-17 and 18-25. The winners will be honoured in a special ceremony held during the Festival and will have their entries published in an anthology.
The deadline for submission is 24 October 2022. For the guide on requirements and submission details, see Story Writing Competition.
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About the Emirates Literature Foundation
The Emirates Literature Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which supports and nurtures a love of literature in the United Arab Emirates and the region, through a programme of varied cultural initiatives.
Established in 2013 by Royal Decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Foundation aims to foster a love for literature, with a focus on the Arabic language.
In line with the National Reading Policy of the UAE, the Foundation has implemented several long-term projects including the School Librarian of the Year Award, Kateb Maktub, and From the Inside Out, as well as conducting year-round student education programmes, book clubs and mentorship programmes. The Foundation’s previous initiatives included the 2020 International Literary Festivals Conference, the 2017 Dubai International Publishing Conference and the 2016 Dubai Translation Conference.
The Foundation is also the governing body of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the UAE’s premier literary festival.
About the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is the Arab World’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word, featuring international and regional writers, poets, thinkers and speakers from around the world. Over the last 14 years more than 1,800 authors from over one hundred countries have spoken at the Festival. In 2022 the Festival reached more than 105,000 people, in person and via live streaming. Sessions included multi-talented top children’s author David Walliams, entreprenuer Gary Vaynerchuck, Indra Nooyi ranked amongst the world’s 100 most powerful women executives, and Bridgerton author Julia Quinn, and the Education Programme featured children’s favourites Ali Sparkes, Rob Biddulph, Sanaa Chabbani, Gulnar Hajou and Ken Arto.
The aim of the Festival is to develop a culture of reading as an enjoyable habit in the UAE, and its efforts have been recognised through many awards over the years. By providing an equal platform for international and locally based talents, the Festival continues to build the literary landscape in the UAE and further afield. Alongside the main programme, the Festival organises an Education programme, reaching students across the seven emirates of the UAE. There are also student competitions, held in Arabic and English, which allow young people to showcase their skills through poetry, short stories and reading.
Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Festival is a key part of the Emirates Literature Foundation, which was established in 2013 by Royal Decree. In partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will be back in 2023.
For information and updates about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature visit the website: EmiratesFest
