Dubai Culture strengthens creative thinking of its employees
to mark World Arabic Language Day

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts, heritage, and literature, in recognition of World Arabic Language Day, organised a one-day Creative Reading and Writing workshop, at the Al Mankhool Public Library, Dubai on 18 December. 

Presented by Dr Mohammed Hamdan bin Jarash, Secretary Generalof the UAE Writers Union, the workshop focussed on ways of creative thinking through reading and writing. It aimed to promote creative reading and writing skills for the Authority's staff and the public.

In addition,Dr Mohammed Hamdan bin Jarash highlighted several points relating to the workshop's main theme, most notably the concept of creative thinking and related skills. He also provided an overview of the Skamper strategy based on two elements, imagination and creativity, by introducing the product or services that can be developed through creative reading and writing.

Fahad Ali Al Mamari, Manager of Writing and Criticism Section at Dubai Culture’s Literature Department, said: "We are committed to organising this workshop with the aim of achieving creativity in reading and writing. It also reflects our efforts to develop a creative generation in this important cultural framework,which presents a strong base for a distinctive generation focussed on innovation." 

The workshop also addressed several different point and promoted interaction between the participants and the presenter, including practical exercises for the development of creative imagination between participants.

Dubai Culture had announced the hosting of the Creative Reading and Writing Workshop and opened the registration for the public. Following the strong response, the Authority selected 20 participants, including several of its employees, to instil creativity in cultural mobility, which is a decisive factor to improve writing and reading skills.

Dubai Culture also organised a workshop for its employees to develop their skills and impart the necessary knowledge to master the rules of writing e-mails in Arabic. The objectives of the workshop — held for over three days for five hours a day — were to give trainees formal writing skills letters in Arabic and help them avoid linguistic, grammatical, and spelling mistakes.

Both training workshops are part of the plans of Dubai Culture’s literature department that aim to enhance the skills of its staff on various aspects of the cultural, artistic, heritage and literature sectors, supporting the Authority’s vision to achieve excellence in corporate performance and attain advanced levels of leadership and excellence. 

Dubai Culture granted its staff practical education and training to correct mistakes by training them in writing, especially e-mail messages. This helps them develop literary and creative abilities in writing and learn about the technical and objective aspects of writing as well as promote their interest in the Arabic language.

The first day of the workshop was dedicated to highlighting the importance of the Arabic language, while addressing the methods of wording, vocabulary, and general and specialised terminology. On the second day, writing techniques were addressed through linguistic scrutiny, with emphasis on other subjects related to ‘hamzat al-wasl,’ ‘hamzatul-qata’, numbering, punctuation marks, and the distinction between Arabicletters. On the workshop’s last day, presenters addressed the artistic construction of the message, writing samples of e-mails, and correcting spelling, grammatical, and creative mistakes.

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.