Primary pupils at an Abu Dhabi private school wore their clothes inside out on Friday to encourage conversations about children’s mental health.
The initiative, known as “Inside Out Day”, aims to show that what is going on inside is not always reflected on the outside.
Charlie Barker, a year six head boy at the British School Al Khubairat (BSAK) suggested the idea to mark Children’s Mental Health Week, which runs until Sunday. Inside Out Day is marked at many schools across the UK this week.
“It makes some people talk about how they are feeling on the inside, so it makes me feel really happy,” said Charlie.
“You never know when someone's actually feeling soundly inside. Because … it's sometimes a bit embarrassing talking about how you feel with other people. If you feel sad, you might think that people might say why are you feeling sad?”
“I think wearing something inside out represents what you feel on the inside, you can let it out on this day, and on any day.
“It's about showing awareness that everybody should be talking. So, it might actually get people thinking, ‘Should I talk?’"
Young people's mental health has been hit severely by the Covid-19 pandemic, as many studied online for months, and some for more than a year.
Analysis by the BBC showed there had been a 77 per cent increase in the number of children needing specialist treatment for a severe mental health crisis since 2020 when the pandemic swept across the world.
“A child may look happy and engaged in their learning,” said Sam Walter, assistant head of well-being and pastoral care (nursery-year six) at BSAK.
“However, on the inside, the child may be incredibly anxious, might be in turmoil, might be incredibly upset about whatever's going on at home or about something that's happened on the way to school.
“It's the idea of not judging a book by its cover … the idea that just because you look OK, doesn't mean that you are OK.”
Evelyn Salisbury, a year six BSAK pupil, was another who wore clothes inside out.
“It makes me feel proud of who I am,” she said.
“For a person like me, I have a few worries on my mind. Usually getting rid of them makes me feel nice, especially talking to someone you can trust.”
Schools across the UAE including BSAK are now placing much emphasis on the mental well-being of their pupils.
Suzie Hachez, director of well-being at Cambridge International School Dubai, said 18 of its pupils had been trained as mental health first aiders.
“Being the only school counsellor for school of 2,800, I couldn't be everywhere. So I felt that if I will have some, some pupils understanding would help,” she said.
“The need was there and even more after coming back to face-to-face learning.
“I felt that I needed to have people — literally Suzies — around the school, so that they would be able to do the basic support within class during break time or in physical education classes.”
Zainab Hussain, a 17-year-old Sri Lankan pupil at Cambridge International school Dubai, is a mental health first aider. She said: “Mental health is 24/7, we need to be on call 24/7.
“We never know when someone might need help. This week specifically we targeted kindness. So we gave a five-minute presentation about how they could engage in act of kindness towards each other, such as asking someone who's sitting alone to play with them.
“They an activity where pupils drew pictures of them acting out these gestures of kindness.
“The first aiders have a buddy system in which basically they spend one-to-one time with the pupils.
“The smallest thing can make a very big impact on a pupil. So it's important that we focus on the little things as well as the bigger picture.”
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Zayed Sustainability Prize