Inspired by her grandmother Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak’s dedication towards investment in intellectuality and empowerment, Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan endeavours to become an ambassador of cultural development in the UAE.
In 1997 Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza founded the Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza Arab Child Prize as a distinctive project in Arabic, aimed at nurturing young readers. It focused on promoting language, values and a sense of belonging. The foundation launched a competition to award the best-written stories submitted from all over the Arab World, and reviewed all entries by a jury of renowned Arab writers and children psychology professionals.
To date 150 winning stories have been selected. They are characterized by rich language and a well thought out plot. The stories also promote social and psychological ties, and the values of love, benevolence and tolerance. The published library of books covers a wide range of topics, including social sciences, fiction, heritage and history.
Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza has focused on children’ education and enlightenment because of her belief that children are the hope for tomorrow’s world, and that it is important to invest in their early education, knowledge and enlightenment. She is grateful for her own childhood and adolescence where books and paintings constantly surrounded her.
“A child is nurtured through reading. Stories unleash the creative imagination of the child allowing them to invent the place, the characters and the space in which events spin around them. It also allows the little reader to intervene in the structure of the story, and imagine the possibilities to the courses of events. It helps develop their senses, and the perspective to like, love and dislike. We learned from my father Zayed to instill a love of reading in the hearts of the younger generation”.
In a bid to expand the project to children living worldwide, the foundation embarked on an ambitious plan to convert the 150 stories into interactive iPad applications. The apps needed to be creative, interactive, educational and fun.
The applications brings to the reader a story delivered with stimulating music, sound effects, interactive animations, as well as vocabulary, language and comprehension games to entertain young minds while educating them. All of the applications were reviewed by focus groups in market studies, to ensure that the illustrations and language levels accurately correspond to the age group of each book.
Fatima bint Hazza Cultural Foundation was founded as a strategic decision to expand activities beyond the Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza Arab Child Prize. It came as a natural step to nurtures all forms of culture and offer projects that contribute to the development of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
The foundation translates HH Sheikha Fatima’s vision to invest in intellectuality and empower people while deeply connecting them to the UAE’s rich culture and heritage. The foundation’s mission reflects Abu Dhabi’s aspiration to transform into an innovation-based, knowledge-producing society. It aims to enrich the cultural scene in Abu Dhabi in particular and the region in general.
Fatima bint Hazza Cultural Foundation keeps children’s literature as its main focus. However it is has a cultural calendar of public, seminars that explore art and music, and introduce new awards for illustration and art.
Working with local and international entities, the foundation aims to spread knowledge and promote its mission. It participates in local and international book fairs in the UAE, London, Paris, Bologna, and Frankfurt. It has strong relations with entities such as the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris and The Arab British Centre in London.
Fatima bint Hazza Cultural Foundation helps children adapt with the world’s rapid changes in an exciting style that represents our heritage and culture. The stories instill values such as honesty, self-confidence, nationalism, that are essential for the emerging generation. Because the foundation’s message reflects the country’s education plans, 22 titles of its books have been integrated into Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) school curriculum.
HH Sheikha Fatima believes in the power of art to inspire. “Art is a universal language and it is a very powerful means of conveying any message. My foundation is set to link inspirational people, ideas and talents to engage them in forming a powerful message be it a book, illustration or reading experience. That is why we are launching another award for illustrations that will be announced soon”.
HH Sheikha Fatima believes that the best gift in the world is the ability to express oneself, be it with a brush stroke, a written word, or a sung poem. Fatima Bint Hazza Cultural Foundation is also making new room in our bookshelves for more writers and books either written by adults for children, or written by children for children. The foundation’s upcoming book series will be about The Adventures of Mohamed and Salama – an Emirati boy and girl representing every child’s curiosity, ambitions and adventures who will take young readers on their journey in rediscovering the UAE’s history and its contemporary life.
