Anyone who has watched children play knows that they do not only squish clay, build with blocks or aimlessly apply colour to drawing books. They tell themselves a story the entire time, making a world of their own and creating characters as they play. Because of their natural ability to tell stories, it’s often easy to inspire a child to become a writer.
Zayed University is doing just that. As The National reported yesterday, the institution is running a competition in collaboration with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding to encourage Emirati pupils to write their own fairytales or fables.
This is an important initiative as storytelling helps in the development of a child. It opens up channels of communication, as well as stimulates emotional and linguistic faculties. We live our lives through narrative and the earlier we can start, the better.
