CELEBRATING LITERATURE

The Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature starts on March 1 st and lasts until March 12. It has the theme of ‘Time‘ this year and the event will see the participation of more than 150 writers, poets and illustrators from 30 countries.

With 2016 announced as the Year of Reading by the UAE leaders, the eighth edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is putting a special emphasis on the habit of reading, along with local traditions, and William Shakespeare, in honour of the famous writer's 400th anniversary.

The year 2016 was declared the year of reading in the UAE to create a generation of book lovers and consolidate the UAE's position as a global capital for culture and knowledge. It was declared by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Cabinet approved the declaration and instructed each Emirate to promote reading among Emirati generations, in a quest to create a generation of book lovers and lifetime readers.

Some other interesting activities related to the ‘Year of Reading’

Some special services are starting for those who like relaxing on Dubai's sunny beaches. Beach goers will be given books to read for free from next month, thanks to a Dubai Municipality initiative. The municipality is all set to introduce library kiosks from where beach goers can borrow books to read and unwind while relaxing in the sun.

The project aims to encourage people to read, in line with the initiative of the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to make 2016 the Year of Reading. The first set of library units will be installed at the Kite beach in Umm Suqueim and Al Mamzar Beach - the beaches that attract hundreds of thousands of people annually.

Key Stage 1 Optional Extension Activities This year the theme of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature was ‘time’. If you were given the job of organizing the 2017 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, what theme would you have? Why? List your Top Ten favourite books. * compare your list with a partner and discuss any similarities and differences. Do you have a favourite author? Why do you like them? Next time you go to the library, go to the UAE section and choose a book to read from the fiction section – there are lots of stories about animals and people etc from this region (in English).

Key Stage 2 Optional Extension Activities List your Top Ten favourite fiction books. * compare your list with a partner and discuss any similarities and differences. Do you have a favourite author? Why do you like them? Have you ever read any fiction with a connection to this region (location, character…)? You have been given the task of organizing the 2017 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature - the theme this year was ‘time’. What theme would you have? Why? Who would you invite to the festival? Why? **Next time you go to the library, go to the UAE section and choose a book to read from the fiction section – there are lots of stories about animals and people etc from this region (in English).