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Dubai: More than 100 students from 40 schools in Dubai took part in the first edition of the Dubai Saturday Club for students.

Pupils aged 13 to 16 were given the opportunity to display their creativity in themed workshops and master classes held across four tracks. The Saturday club created an opportunity for teenagers to gain exposure to topics and themes they would not normally focus on in school.

The platform takes its inspiration from the UK’s National Art & Design Saturday Club.

In Dubai, the club was created by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in partnership with the Dubai Design & Fashion Council, d3 and Dubai Creativity Clusters Authority.

Working together on six Saturdays over a period of three months, the Saturday Club provided students with a first-hand experience of “design-thinking”.

The four tracks explored by students included well-being, creativity and design, entrepreneurship, and technology. Through the process, the students came up with future solutions for the world’s current issues.

Hind Al Mualla, Chief of Creativity, Happiness and Innovation, KHDA, said: “It’s a guided approach to building empathy and creating a sense of creative confidence in the students. Seeing the young learners self-organise themselves and develop a sense of shared responsibility to solve real-life problems was truly rewarding.”

Justine Bain, founder of Sandy Seeds Children’s Wellness project, highlighted the success of the Saturday club as students kept coming back and allowing “their creative switch to be switched on”.

When asked about the experience, students said it increased their confidence, helped them respect other’s opinions, and connect with each other.

The initiative helped unite students, social entrepreneurs and inspirational speakers while providing exposure to design careers and creating an awareness of the different careers in design thinking. Students were introduced to design thinking as a methodology to solve complex problems.

The workshops covered various topics and captured the attention of the students by bringing awareness to teenagers who not only learnt about their own capabilities but what these capabilities can do to our world and the value of giving back.
Page last updated 31 December 2019
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