UAE: New programme to give kids, parents special summer activities

The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) has launched the third series of Takween 2022, an annual programme aiming to provide educational, recreational and physical activities for children, parents, early childhood practitioners and the community.

The programme, running till the end of September, falls within the ECA’s efforts to promote the development and wellbeing of all young children, raise public awareness of the importance of early childhood, and encourage community members to contribute to empowering young children.

Organised in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) and other partners in the private sector, Takween activities mainly focus on developing and improving children’s skills, physical and mental health. It intends to introduce parents and practitioners to the key practices to ensure children receive the best care and education from the family and community.

The activities include publishing and distributing six short stories for kids entitled ‘Mira’s Stories’ and organising reading sessions and interactive workshops led by the Emirati writer Basma Al Misbahi. The workshops aim to encourage children to read, develop their imagination, and improve their language skills. More than 30 arts, recreational and interactive workshops will be organised for children in July and August.

Eng. Thamer Rashed Al Qasimi, Executive Director of ECA’s Special Projects and Partnerships Sector, said: “Launching Takween 2022 reflects ECA’s commitment to promoting optimal child development from pregnancy to eight years old. The Authority seeks to promote a supportive environment for the development and wellbeing of young children, while offering parents and caregivers opportunities to engage and interact with their communities.”

Takween activities will feature an intensive training course called ‘Coding for Kids’ in collaboration with the DCT. The course consists of two cohorts in two waves at Children’s Library in the Cultural Foundation and all branches of Maktaba across the emirate. The course helps improve creative thinking, problem-solving and other skills for kids, enabling them to understand and keep pace with future sciences.

Sheikha Al Muhairi, Director of the Libraries Department at DCT, emphasised the department’s keenness on supporting all activities encouraging children to innovate in various areas, as they are the future leaders.

“We are working with our partners in the public and private sectors to promote cognitive development and cultural awareness among young people. Through our fruitful partnership with ECA, we are looking forward to contributing to the success of Takween programme, to promote child development and wellbeing,” Al Muhairi added.

Virtual workshops on early intervention will be held to raise parents’ awareness of the importance of early identification of children with developmental delays.

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Other community activities include ‘Time Well-Spent’ initiative that encourages family members to effectively spend mealtime with children without using mobile devices in Abu Dhabi’s cafes and restaurants.

There will be a community initiative called the ‘Voice of Child Panel’ to establish a panel representing some of the emirate’s parents and children. The panel targets capturing the views of parents and children to ensure the voice of every child in Abu Dhabi is heard.

Parents and practitioners can visit Parents’ Platform (www.eca.gov.ae) to join the programme.

• Abu Dhabi