DUBAI: The UAE’s young poetry performers were celebrated at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature at a special ceremony to honour the winners of the ‘Poetry for All’ competition, sponsored by Emirates NBD.
The annual competition for pupils aged 8-18 years gives young people the chance to show off their oratory and performance skills with individual interpretations of favourite poems, which this year were performed in person.
Winners were chosen by a panel of poets and judges including festival poets Sara al Zain, Qasim Saudi, Mohamad al Hebsi and Eidha bin Masood for Arabic and Zeina Hashem Beck, Harry Baker, Martin Kiszko and Zolani Mkiva for the participants in English.
The Poetry for All competition attracted more than 1,142 entrants in English and Arabic, which is an unprecedented number, competing across the two age group categories of the competition, 8-13 and 14-18.
2023 also saw the inclusion of a separate category for Students of Determination and for Arabic the student performed both Fasih and Nabati poetry.
This is the sixth year that Emirates NBD has sponsored the competition.
“Emirates NBD is delighted to be the proud sponsor of the Emirates NBD Poetry For All competition. The competition is our heartfelt contribution towards bolstering the strong tradition of poetry recitation in the country and passing the love of poetry to the next generation,” said Moadh Bukhash, Chief Marketing Officer at Emirates NBD.
“The enthusiasm and passion of the participating students for this competition is palpable and reassures us that this is a cause we would like to continue to support,” he added.
Winners:
English: 8-13 Category:
14–18 Category
8-18 Students of Determination Category
Arabic: 8-13 – Poetry Category:
8-13 – Nabati Poetry Category:
14-18 – Poetry Category:
14-18 – Nabati Poetry Category:
8-18 Students of Determination Category
Honourable Mentions:
Other initiatives celebrated at the festival included the ‘Voices of Future Generations’, the ‘School Librarian of the Year’; ‘OUP Story Writing Competition’; ‘RGS Guildford Dubai Children’s Letter Writing Competition’; ‘Chevron Reader’s Cup’; ‘Emirates LitFest Writing Prize’; and the announcement of the fellow for the second year of ‘First Chapter: ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship’.
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature Festival is held with founding partners Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated authority for heritage, arts, and culture. It is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.
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