Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week.
I’m a firm believer that the highest form of love is consideration. I kept coming back to that idea while putting together this week’s Beshara, which is about the different ways people make room for one another.
In Dubai’s Arabian Ranches, Angela Hundal set up a free neighbourhood library for children to stop by and pick out a book to take home.
In Beirut, an international film festival gave thousands of people a chance to reconnect with each other and with art after months of war.
And in Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum has opened a calm room where neurodivergent visitors can take a quiet break and enjoy the museum at their own pace.
Because sometimes, feeling welcome comes down to something as simple as knowing there’s a place for you.
Do you have good news or positive stories you want us to share? Email me at: falmahmoud@thenationalnews.com
The little library next door
There’s a bookcase by Angela Hundal’s front door in Dubai and the neighbourhood children know just what to do with it. They stop by to see what’s on the shelves, pick a book to take home and can leave one of their own for the next reader.
“I’ve always loved reading and writing, so I’ve always wanted to do something like this,” said Hundal, a senior editor and mother of two. She set up the Little Free Library after moving to Arabian Ranches in 2024, joining a book-sharing movement that began in the US state of Wisconsin, when a son built a little library in honour of his mother, a teacher who loved books.
“It did so well … my house was overflowing with books,” she told The National.
Quoted
'Whenever I look at a summit, I can't help but smile and think: You did it, you set a goal, and you executed it'
– Emirati teenage mountaineer Fatima Al Awadhi, 19, is urging young people to seize their dreams after she set several records in scaling the world’s highest peaks.
Making room for all
When the galleries at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed National Museum start to feel overwhelming, visitors now have somewhere to take a breather.
In the newly established calm room, designed to support neurodivergent visitors and those who may experience sensory overload, they can dim the lights, listen to soothing sounds or pick up a fidget tool before heading back to the exhibits when they’re ready.
“Feedback is the cornerstone of everything we do because you cannot build something for people without involving them,” says the museum’s accessibility strategist. The room builds on programmes such as Quiet Morning, which offers a quieter museum visit, and Beyond Sight, which runs hands-on workshops for visually impaired visitors.
Snapshot
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