Painted by over 500 students from five GEMS Education Schools across Dubai the massive work of art took more than 3,000 hours to produce over recent weeks. The giant 36 x 7 metre educational work of art depicts eco-systems and endangered animals and will be exhibited in Mirdif City Centre Galleria for the next few weeks.

It was unveiled at a special ceremony in the Central Galleria of Mirdif City Centre with students involved in the art project enthralling guests with a dance performance based on the environmental themes of the mural. This was followed by displays from Team Extreme, a high tension bungee acrobatic team from Germany and a parade by the Italian Saltambico troupe of entertainers, all watched by thousands of visitors to the new mall.

Mr Yousif Al Ali, Vice President of Mirdif City Centre, described the art project as perfectly in line with the mall’s core ideals of engaging the community and making a commitment to the environment: “Sustainability and our community are two fundamentals of Mirdif City Centre, and this project embodies both these things.

“Involving and educating the next generation on key issues, such as the protection of the environment and endangered species is so important, and what better way to do this than through the medium of art? The expression created by the students will provide the perfect backdrop to celebrate Mirdif City Centre’s opening week and we are pleased to provide a platform to showcase their talent and learning,” added Al Ali.
The mural project involved primary to secondary school students from five GEMS Education Schools – GEMS Royal Dubai School, The Westminster School, Cambridge International School, The Millennium School, and Al Khaleej National School, in addition to participation by Mawaheb from Beautiful People, a charity that helps children with disabilities through art therapy.

The mural is endorsed by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Environment and Water, and the Emirates Wildlife Society in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (EWS-WWF), and depicts six different ecosystems – Mountains, Oceans, Desert, Cold/Polar, Tropical Rainforest, Savannah/Grasslands.

Mirdif City Centre opened this week on 16th March with over 350 stores open for business from day one, making it one of the most impressive openings of a mall ever in this region.

Located on the corner of Tripoli Street and Emirates Road, the new AED 3 Billion, 196,000 square metre mall, was completed in just over two years and has been delivered on time, as promised.

‘The initiative has come from the AILF – the International French Bookstore Association. They have requested the backing of all their members to support the French Bookstores in Haiti, which have been destroyed by the recent earthquake’ Renata Sader, Culture and Co owner declared.

‘The French speaking community worldwide has decided to help support the reconstruction of the French bookstores in Port-au-Prince, thus putting forward one of the basic principles of the French speaking cultural lifestyle: solidarity’ she added.

‘With the support of all the French speaking communities in the UAE, we have raised funds on this opening day of our new showroom that will help aid the rebuilding of the French Bookstores in Haiti.’

The opening ceremony was attended by the French Council General in the UAE, Mrs. Nada Yafi as well as representatives from French speaking diplomatic and cultural representations in the country.

With its new location in Oud Metha, in the vicinity of the French schools and French Alliances, Culture & Co aims to encourage book lovers and its supporters to visit regularly, with ease of access.

Within its 200 square meters, the bookstore offers a wide variety of educational, curriculum, historical and entertaining French books. This broad selection provides all levels of reading whether for learning purposes, leisure or lifestyle.

Parents will also be able to order specific books for their school children as well as educational material for people wanting to learn French. Orders may also be placed for any specific requirements that are not found in store.

‘We sent out special invitations to all our friends, partners and clients to celebrate the opening of our new bookstore and contribute to the support we are offering to the Haitian French bookstores’ Sader concluded.

Culture & Co – is the first French bookstore in the UAE, and the only French bookstore in the GCC. Opened in Dubai in April 2006, it caters for the cultural and educational needs of all the French speaking communities in the UAE, with 2 bookstores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It’s aim is to promote the French culture in the region and offers an array of various books and novels for all tastes and ages – including educational multimedia material – , as well as educational material for schools and cultural centres in the GCC.

Culture & Co, Al Nasr Plaza, Oud Metha, PO Box 502104, Dubai
Email: info@culturecodubai.com

The event was held under the patronage of Ministry of Education, and Education Minister Humaid Al Qutami, hoisted the national flag amidst a sea of students.

Said Mary Joseph, publisher of QUEST, an educational magazine that organized and presented the event, said ‘We are very encouraged by the response and turnout at the Walkathon. We have been getting excellent feedback from the students, schools and the various organizations involved with the event, that we are considering increasing the scale and scope of the Walkathon in the future.’

The Dubai School Inspection Bureau (DSIB) carried out inspections of 69 public and private schools and published the results on the Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s website yesterday.

In summary:

• All of the public schools inspected were rated good or acceptable.
• Of the private schools inspected, 4 were rated outstanding and 6 unacceptable. Standards at other private schools were either good or acceptable.

The 4 private schools named as outstanding were the Jumeirah College, JESS (Jumeirah), JESS (Arabian Ranches), and Kings Dubai.

Bradenton Preparatory Academy, based in the US, will open a school at Dubai Sports City in September 2009.

The school will offer an American College preparatory education and cater for 900 boys and girls from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Facilities include a performing arts centre, science labs, gym, and auditorium.

Initial registrations are now being taken.

The Bradenton Preparatory Academy in Florida was founded in 1975. It pioneered the concept of combining traditional education with elite sports training.

The launch was attended by Dr Rod Paige, the former US Education Secretary.

The poll, conducted by market researchers Real Opinions, reveals that almost 1 in 5 believe they may lose their job in the next year.

Foreign workers also expressed concerns with the high cost of living, in particular school fees and rents.

The Raffles International School Nurseries are located in Downtown Burj Dubai and Emirates Hills (The Springs).

The schools will have an international team of teachers and non-teaching staff to reflect the cosmopolitan nature of the city.

All places at the nursery in Emirates Hills have been filled. Emaar Education is, however, currently accepting registrations for the next academic year.

The UAE branch of the famous UK public school opened its doors for junior pupils in 2007 and follows the National Curriculum for England.