In the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education, the prestigious European diamond jewellery brand, in partnership with L'Officiel ME awarded with splendid diamond jewels the winners of the poetry competition entitled “A thing of Beauty is Joy Forever”.
The unique poetry competition that lasted for the past two months and engaged the students of Zayed University and Dubai Women College, closed on a high note with the prize ceremony at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. It was attended by several dignitaries as well as the Vice presidents of both universities.
The winners, whose poems have already been published by the magazine L'Officiel, were thrilled to receive as prizes the very jewels that inspired their compositions. “The jewels perfectly crowned this joyful moment” explains Nicoletta Danieli, Scintilla Monaco Marketing Manager. “The winning poems express the same passion for life and quest for beauty that characterizes each of the creations of Scintilla Monaco. That's why the support of young talented artists is so important for us and this contest is perfectly in line with our vision”.
“The University is highly interested in supporting the cultural and academic activities and their participation in the social events which are connected to the academic and cultural programs. We encourage students to submit the ideas and innovations by using the advanced academic techniques they gained during their studies and internship”, says Dr. Sulaiman Al Jassim, Vice President of Zayed University.
Dr. Al Jassim mentioned that the participation of students in different local, regional, and international events enhance their skills and capabilities, prepare them to face life, and embody the learning outcomes they have learned in both Arabic and English languages, IT skills, and problem solving. “Winning such a competition is one of our new additions and accomplishments to the leadership of our students, academic courses and extra-curricular activities”.
“Zayed University supports all cultural and artistic initiatives submitted by students, faculty members and staff. These initiatives that have positive impacts on developed thoughts and ideas, spread artistic awareness among students and embody the concepts of academic environment with all its academic and cultural components, that enrich the emotions and thoughts of students who will face practical life and social environment after graduation”, he concluded.
“Dubai Women’s College is known to be a leader of excellence in the community. In order to graduate members who will be critical leaders of the Emirati society, we make sure to expose our students to all kinds of challenges.”
“The decision to participate in this competition was very challenging for our students. We are aware of the fact that the Arabic language is being used less day after day and that’s why we were very interested in encouraging our students to participate in this competition. Schintilla Monaco introduced a challenging competition which highlighted the significance of staying in touch with our own Arabic language.” Says Dr. Behjat Al Yousuf, Associate Director at Dubai Women’s College.
“The competition has been an enriching experience for Scintilla Monaco and has given us the opportunity to be in direct contact with young gifted students. During the contest we have received the enthusiastic support of the universities, the Ministry of Higher Education and Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. All of us believe in the importance of the artistic expression as well as in the amazing capabilities of the young women in this country and the students proved us right”, continued Danieli.
In fact the jury of the competition, that was comprised of two of well-known Middle Eastern poets Ali Al Khawar and Al Hanouf as well as renowned editors, journalists and members of the Ministry of Higher Education, was very pleased by the poetical content of the compositions that surpassed their expectations.
“In Scintilla Monaco we are extremely proud of the outcome of the competition. All the winners wrote Nabati poems, in line with the impressive tradition of UAE writers. This encourages us to continue our quest for talent in other parts of the Middle East as well. The next in series is Saudi Arabia where we will launch the next context this March”, concluded Danieli.
Nima Abu Wardeh, the famous BBC journalist and member of Jury, synthesised in an enthusiastic way the spirit and the objective of the competition: “Getting the students to put pen to paper is a great thing in itself – a first step on the road to self-expression and – hopefully – it’ll spark their interest in careers such as journalism.
It’s wonderful that Scintilla Monaco has taken a genuine interest in the local culture.
This has been an extremely eye-opening and pleasant experience for me, and a chance to sit back and take in the underlying UAE culture that we are so often oblivious to in our relentless rush of our daily lives. I feel I have made new friends. I look forward to next year’s competition.”
