Students help preserve rich history

 Young students from the Zayed University took the lead to volunteer as cultural ambassadors to bear the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's name during the annual Shaikh Zayed Heritage Festival.

The event, which took place in Al Wathba, is named after the late Shaikh Zayed in recognition of his role in preserving the nation's rich history.

Shamsa Al Taie, Director of Student Affairs Department in Abu Dhabi campus, arranged Zayed University's presence at the festival.

"I couldn't be happier with the students' work ethics and the dominance of ZU volunteers who answered the call to service," Shamsa said.

Brione LaThrop, Instructor at the Academic Bridge Programme and Faculty Advisor for the festival, said: "ZU's Kharareef Heritage Storytelling Club in partnership with Bin Hamoodah Auto made up a number of volunteers, who are sharing fairy tales and fables from the UAE visual and traditional storytelling to festival visitors.

Amani Hamdan AlGhafri, Fatima Mubarak Suliman, and Shaima Mohamed Al Obaidli, ZU students and talented young artists, were joined by a Kharareef Heritage artist, Mayyada Abdulhakeem AlKatheeri during the festival and created the majority of the work on the mural.

Kharareef Heritage Storytellers Club aims to contribute to service learning, promote the Emirati culture by creating and designing cultural and traditional events, enrich the legacy of the Emirati storytelling tradition, and build confidence and competence in public speaking, while fostering creativity and expression through the art of storytelling.

Brione pointed out that audiences' response was heartwarming. "It was amazing to see the pride on the face of the many nationals."

jasmine@khaleejtimes.com