Dubai: As many as 29 students were awarded with Taleem Poetry Awards at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature on Saturday.
The theme of the poetry competition was "Identity" , which is also the theme of the festival.
Hamza Raza, Aliosha Bielenberg Pittaka, Doughun Kim and Jorge Zarate bagged first prize in the English category while the first prize winners in the Arabic category were Nour Mouthana Hussain, Jasem Akran, Montaha Monther and Alyazeyeh Abdullah.
The competition was divided into four age categories: 11 and under, 12-14, 15-18 and 18 in both English and Arabic. The awards were handed to the winners by distinguished writers and poets John O'Sullivan, Maytha Al Khayyat, Imtiaz Dharker and Taaleem's CEO Ziad Azzam.
Jorge Zarate, first place winner said, "This [competition] means a lot to me because this is the first poem I have let other people read."
The Taaleem Poetry Award was a new addition to the Literature Festival, which Taaleem is also sponsoring. The competition's theme was chosen by Isobel Abulhoul, the Founder and Director of the Literature Festival, to reflect the overall 2012 Festival's theme of "identity".
"This is a dream come true for us in Taaleem…creating a connection between what we do in our schools and the culture," Azzam said.
About Taaleem
Taaleem, has been establishing, operating and managing early childhood, primary and secondary schools since 2004. Taaleem seeks to raise the regional educational standards through the committed development of individual student's talents and passions, which is in turn facilitated and supported by the recruitment of top international educators and the implementation of global best practice.
