Adam Zargar and Linda Chaccour believe that they’ve found the magic formula. Children ages 7 to 13 can sign up for the day experience with Kids Apprentice, the brainchild of the pair, which means real life “work experience” with tasks to be completed as part of a team. Zargar and Chaccour are present throughout, coaching the children on the spot in a boardroom-like environment and encouraging their creativity and ideas. There are presentations to be made, winners to be chosen and prizes to be won, but ultimately, the day will leave each child with inspired creativity and newly acquired leadership and life skills – all invaluable for the future.
“We just try to make it as fun as possible,” says Zargar, 33, a youth and adult empowerment coach from the UK and the head of empowerment coaching at 2b Limitless.
“We give these kids a real-life experience as much as we can – they will be evaluated, their work judged, they have deadlines to deal with, an end product to produce – but they’re learning the entire time without even realising it because they’re having such a good time.”
The first Dubai Kids Apprentice workshop was held in October. Twenty-one children ranging in age from 8 to 13 were divided into four teams; each team had two long tasks and one short one to complete and present: a design-and-marketing task, a building task and an advertising task. The tasks required brainstorming of ideas, before each team settled on an idea and worked on presenting it.
“It was amazing watching the kids interacting with one another, and seeing the creativity and imagination behind their ideas; their own parents couldn’t believe their kids produced such work,” says Chaccour, 38, a certified youth, parent and family coach from Lebanon and the founder of Emerge Personal and Youth Coaching in Dubai.
“It gives kids a different dimension to their thinking and gets them to interact outside of their comfort zone and try something new, with new people, in a new environment that’s not in school,” she says.
Though schools may be very strong academically, few have programmes that work on leadership skills, bonding, teamwork, critical thinking and creativity. There are prizes for best team, best idea, best individual and so on.
“You see their creativity blossom and how their ideas grow; they all get the same task, but they come up with such different ideas and results and they learn to work together and learn about the dynamics of a team,” said Chaccour.
One challenge that the children were tasked with was to design a hotel. Ideas ranged from a chocolate pool on the hotel’s grounds and slides instead of elevators to access the different floors, to bathrooms that are 100 per cent germfree, virtual fitness centres that allow you to work out simply by wearing a pair of glasses instead of actually sweating and a glow-in-the-dark suite.
The future plan for the coaching duo is to tailor Kids Apprentice as a theme for birthday parties, to create an Arab edition (it’s all currently held in English) and to tailor the concept for schools, so that children’s extra-curricular activities can go beyond the likes of tennis, swimming, basketball and dance.
“For parents, this is a chance to give their kids something valuable,” said Chaccour. “Instead of a self-esteem class or an anti-bullying workshop, teach them teamwork and respect and raise their confidence and give each child a chance.”
The info
• Kids Apprentice is open to kids ages 7 to 13
• The fee is Dh350 to sign up and includes a half-hour children’s yoga class at the end of the day
• Fruit and drinks will be provided, but children are encouraged to bring their own lunch
• The next Dubai Kids Apprentice will be held at the Cascade Learning Centre (cascadelearning.ae) on December 13 from 9.30am to 4pm, then the last Friday of every month, starting from January 31
• The Abu Dhabi Kids Apprentice will begin on February 14, 2014, and will be held on the second Friday of every month. The venue is yet to be decided
• Visit www.kids-apprentice.com to register your child for the next Kids Apprentice day or email info@kidsapprentice.com
artslife@thenational.ae
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ICC Intercontinental Cup
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (captain), Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Saqlain Haider, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Naveed, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Boota, Amir Hayat, Ashfaq Ahmed
Fixtures Nov 29-Dec 2
UAE v Afghanistan, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Hong Kong v Papua New Guinea, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Ireland v Scotland, Dubai International Stadium
Namibia v Netherlands, ICC Academy, Dubai
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Results
6pm: Dubai Trophy – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: Silent Speech, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby
(trainer)
6.35pm: Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m
Winner: Island Falcon, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.10pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Dirt)
1,400m
Winner: Rawy, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.45pm: Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Desert Fire, Hector Crouch, Saeed bin Suroor
8.20pm: Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Naval Crown, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.55pm: Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Al Tariq, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watsons
9.30pm: Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Dubai Icon, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor
Uefa Nations League: How it Works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Blue%20Beetle
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20Manuel%20Soto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EXolo%20Mariduena%2C%20Adriana%20Barraza%2C%20Damian%20Alcazar%2C%20Raoul%20Max%20Trujillo%2C%20Susan%20Sarandon%2C%20George%20Lopez%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
Wales 2 (Moore 10', Wilson 34')
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Results
International 4, United States 1
Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods (US) beat Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann (International) 4 and 3.
Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im (International) beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (US) 2 up.
Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An (International) beat Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau (US) 2 and 1.
Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan (International) beat Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed (US) 1 up.
Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen (International) beat Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (US) 4 and 3.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives