Noora Al Ali is not your average university student. A fourth year graphic design student from Zayed University, Noora is determined to make a difference by spreading compassion. She launched the Radiate Good campaign as a book of action, a to-do-list of sorts, to mobilize change. The campaign not only aims to bring the community closer together but encourages people to make acts of kindness a part of their daily life. Noora explains to Tempo how this works…
“I was chatting with one of my teachers. She was telling me about ‘compassionate games’, which are held annually to encourage people from different countries to do good deeds. So I thought it would be a good idea to do something similar in Abu Dhabi to make it a compassionate city. My Radiate Good campaign is just a start for people here to practice kindness and make it a part of their daily lives.
“The main goal is to promote acts of kindness in daily life. I targeted working people and students because they are very busy accomplishing their goals or with their daily lives that they often forget about the people around them. I want people to be aware of things around them and think of people and be thoughtful of them. However, in our current lifestyle, compassion is sometimes neglected because people usually put themselves first to accomplish their personal goals.
The idea behind the compassionate games definitely inspired me! People nowadays are busy chasing their dreams that they become very ambitious and individualistic. They need a reminder to be kinder and more thoughtful of others, and show them that by being kinder, they can improve themselves, which could help them to grow and become more successful in their own career or life.
For this campaign I have lots of different ideas for the future such as focusing on something such as bullying in schools, and making another booklet with 100 more acts of kindness that students at schools can do. So the idea is to focus on one thing but take the main idea of this project and make a booklet for one specific group of people to target one issue.
“The booklet is the main piece of advice that I give. It has lots of information and stresses the importance of being kind. To put together this booklet, I did a study and read lots of books. My advice is to carry this book with you. I designed the book with lots of illustrations so it wouldn’t be boring to look at. I hope that the book will give people the motivation to change their lifestyle and start thinking of the people in their lives and how they can draw a smile on their faces.
“I like to spread positivity and be kind to everyone I am surrounded by, whether I know them or not. That’s because I understand that anyone might be going through hard times and may need someone to cheer them up, and be nice to them. Some acts of kindness that I got used to doing, even without thinking, is smiling to anyone I see, and also holding the door open to the person behind me. I am say “Thank you” and “Please” a lot because I feel that it is my way of showing politeness and appreciation to anyone who helps me.
“As humans, we have the need to be cared for and to care for others; to be treated with respect and justice; and to live in a peaceful and loving society. I hope this campaign will raise awareness about the importance of being compassionate to your community, family, friends and yourself.”
