While CUD Reads’ mission is to encourage the University’s interest and enthusiasm for reading, it also creates a space for growth in an untapped market within the university and locally. CUD Reads aims to enhance and build a thriving arts and humanities environment on campus. More so, CUD Reads’ vision is to additionally inspire the community to be passionate about the arts and literature while enriching their minds.

 

In addition, as a brand extension of CUD Reads, the Khawater Story-Telling Contest, a bi-annual story-telling contest that would engage high school students and university students to hone their creative skills. Khawater (خواطر) is an Arabic word that translates to “the written expression of one’s thoughts and emotions''. It is common that a child’s creativity is repressed by the academic rigor expected in today’s society, especially once they determine a career or educational path that does not require creativity. A 2010 study showed that since the 1990’s, children have become less creative and able to develop unusual or unique ideas compared to children in the 1970’s (Rettner, 2011). This can be due to the strenuous and result-orientated educational system that focuses on testing systems that work around “there is only one right answer to a question”. This is hampering the youths’ creativity and critical thinking. However, Khawater Story-Telling Contest’s vision is to liberate the youths’ creative ability to enhance their passions, overall development, and self-expression. Creativity is a tool and skill that should be honed and Khawater Story-Telling Contest’s mission is to establish this practice. Furthermore, we aim to provide the youth with a place in which they can address major themes and issues that affect their lives. 

 

To make the contest more intriguing, relevant and appealing, the contest will encompass three categories for story-telling. The three categories are 1) short stories 2) poetry and 3) photography and audio/visual. According to Emirates Literature Foundation, the most popular genres for books amongst the youth in UAE include drama, mystery. romance and adventure. Due to this, we believe that youth that enjoy these genres will have a potential interest and knack for creative writing and short story writing. In addition, poetry is a popular form of art and entertainment amongst the arab community especially Emiratis. More so, poets are rapidly becoming popular on social media platforms such as Instagram amongst adolescents. The option to use poetry to tell a story provides a medium that the participants have an appreciation for and connection to. Lastly, photography is one of the most common creative freelancing fields in the UAE. With a strong social media culture in Dubai and a growing appreciation of photography as a hobby, the photography category is highly relevant and attractive for participants. 

 

In order to make the competition relatable and accessible to all, this year’s submissions will be inspired by the COVID-19 experiences of the participants. Covid-19 has not only affected people as a respiratory disease but has also had a social, economic and psychological impact on individuals of all ages. Due to the pandemic, four in ten individuals have experienced symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Studies in America tell us that 36% of individuals are having difficulty sleeping and 32% are struggling to eat. A lot of these issues can stem from the need to stay isolated indoors but also the downfall of the economy that resulted in decreased  income, strenuous work hours and unemployment (Panchal et al, 2021). These are factors that also affect the experience and wellbeing of children in households going through such issues. More so, every individual has had their own unique experience during the pandemic. Therefore, we believe that this topic will inspire students to use their voices and take us through their own journey of the last year.