Tag: CHILDREN

Categories
Arab News

Transforming education for the real-world: No subjects, no classrooms, no exams

Transforming education for the real-world No subjects, no classrooms, no exams

The model is based on research from World Economic Forum and OECD…reports Asian Lite News

Education in Motion (EiM), the education provider behind some of today’s most forward-thinking schools around the world, announced that it has made a significant minority investment in School of Humanity, which reimagines the high school experience with a focus on future-readiness by offering personalised, interdisciplinary, competency-based, real-world learning paths and industry leader mentorships.

EiM co-Founder and Chief Collaboration Officer, Karen Yung, commented: “Our investment in a strategic partnership with School of Humanity is a critical step in our quest to build a portfolio of innovative education brands empowering the next generation of young people with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to make a difference for society and the planet, given the ever-accelerating rate of change. School of Humanity’s innovative pedagogy and online-first engagement models are completely aligned with that task and our vision for the future of education.”

Founded by education entrepreneur Raya Bidshahri, School of Humanity offers high school learners from around the world the ability to develop the skills, mindsets, and behaviors they need to be ready for the future of work, contribute to collective human progress and flourish in individual life. The online four-year High School, along with its Summer School and After School offerings, center on interdisciplinary learning pathways focused on global learners solving real-world problems in a collaborative, project-based, and personalized way. The model is based on research from World Economic Forum and OECD.

ALSO READ:

Categories
Lite Blogs

Ayushmann feels children at risk need to be protected at any cost

“Each one of us has a role to play to end child labour. We can take action to end child labour from our businesses, our homes and our communities.”…reports Asian Lite News

On World Day Against Child Labour, actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who is roped in by the UNICEF as their Celebrity Advocate for the global campaign Ending Violence Against Children (EVAC), has set the agenda for eradication of child labour in our country.

Ayushmann says, “Children belong to schools and playgrounds, not workshops, factories, agricultural fields or as domestic labourers. Child labour violates their rights and deprives them of their education, growth and opportunities. It also makes them vulnerable to injuries, exploitation and abuse.”

He added: “Children who have the opportunity to go to school regularly, have a better earning potential in the future, helping end the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

“Each one of us has a role to play to end child labour. We can take action to end child labour from our businesses, our homes and our communities.”

Ayushmann feels children at risk need to be protected at any cost.

He says, “Support vulnerable children and their families to access education and social protection schemes. Raise awareness around the lasting negative impact of child labour. Call CHILDLINE 1098 if you see a child labour or any other child in distress.”

On the work front, Ayushmann will be next seen in two very interesting projects this year — Anubhuti Kashyap’s ‘Doctor G’ and filmmaker Aanand L. Rai’s ‘Action Hero’ being directed by debutant Anirudh Iyer.

ALSO READ-Ayushmann believes India has a wealth of talent

Categories
Events Sharjah UAE News

Child prodigies huddle at Sharjah Reading Fest

The 13th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) under the theme ‘Create Creativity’, will launch on 11th May through 22nd May, 2022…reports Asian Lite News

The series of inspirational talks will be held at the Kids’ Creative Café in Hall six at Expo Centre Sharjah, where SCRF is gearing up to enlighten young audiences and highlight the unique talents of seven child prodigies in various fields of literary, artistic and scientific creativity.

The Kids’ Creative Café will host 9-year-old Alreem Al Hammadi, a talented Emirati writer, who will inspire and motivate children to read and explore the world around them. Proficient in arts and creativity, Al Hammadi is a multi-award winner, including a recipient of awards instituted by the UAE’s Department of Culture and Tourism.

Taif Al Dhufairi, a talented story writer from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who started writing and publishing stories when she was 8 years old, will share the secrets of her exceptional talent with SCRF 2022 audiences. In 2019, Al Dhufairi, won the Rashid bin Humaid Award for Culture and Sciences – Children’s Literature category, to become the youngest winner of this award since its inception.

Award-winning sports champion, Farah Mustafa from Egypt, will also be hosted at the Kids’ Creative Café. An avid swimmer and volleyball player, Farah Mustafa has also competed in a series of Mind Sports at the national and international levels, ranking third in a world championship held in Thailand.

16-year-old Ahsan Ramzan from Pakistan, will recount his journey of becoming the second youngest winner of the International Billiards and Snooker Federation’s (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in March 2022. An avid snooker enthusiast for over a decade, Ahsan was among only six juniors fielded by the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Federation (PBSF) to compete in the event alongside 50 other cueists.

ALSO READ: Kalimat marks World Book Day with four inspiring titles for children

12-year-old Dubai-based Bangladeshi student Ameena Hossain, who has a formidable list of exceptional achievements to her name, earned the first place in a mental math competition held at Amity University, UAE, when she was just seven. She secured the title for a second time in 2019. This year, Ameena secured third and fourth place respectively in the Spelling Bee and Mental Math competitions.

The line-up of gifted young speakers also includes Patrick Njoroge Wachira, a 12-year-old CEO from Kenya, who will highlight the importance of preparing children for a tech-enabled future through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. Patrick runs an initiative called the PNW Innovations Programme that offers free STEM education to underprivileged Kenyan children deprived of access to basic computer learning and the internet.

The Kids’ Creative Café will also host Devi Vaishnavi, a student at International Indian School Ajman, who will share her writing journey as a young established author and poet. By age 11, the literary talent from India had already published two books, ‘Vampid: The Vampire Virus’, and ‘The Sky Speaks’, as well as a poem titled ‘The Promise’. During her talk, Devi will also present her creative writing book titled ‘The Voice’.

Categories
Bangladesh India News News

Hasina announces long-term plans for future of children

Her government has long-term plans to make the future beautiful for the children…reports Asian Lite News

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said it was really sad and painful for the nation that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, along with his family including his youngest son Russel, by some of the same Bengali people for whom he had risked his life, faced incarceration for years, and established the dignity of a nation for them.

In her remarks at a programme at the Bangabandhu Mausoleum Complex, Tungipara in Gopalganj, to mark the 102nd birth anniversary of the Bangabandhu and the National Children’s Day, she said that her government has long-term plans to make the future beautiful for the children, as no other children can lost their lives including parents like Russel, her innocent youngest brother, who was only 10 years old then.

The National Implementation Committee for Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Birth Centenary Celebration, in collaboration with the Women and Children Affairs Ministry, had arranged the programme, featuring a discussion and a cultural soiree.

The event began with the National Anthem followed by the theme song of “Mujib Borsha”. An audio-visual presentation titled “Tungipara: Hridoye Pitribhumi (Father’s Land in Heart)” was screened.

This year, the theme of national children’s day is “Bangabandhur Janmodiner Ongikar, Sokol Shishur Soman Odhikar (Equal Rights for all children, Commitment of Bangbandhu’s birthday)”.

Sheikh Hasina, also the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu, said though there had been a reign of killers, war criminals, Al-Badr and Razakars (collaborators of Pakistani forces) in the country after the assassination of her family members, she returned home to fulfil the dreams of her father.

“(I returned home) to ensure that the children would not live with the pain of losing family members like us, rather they would have a nice and improved life,” she said.

Noting that the Father of the Nation used to love children very much, the PM said her government in 1996 declared the 17th March as the children’s day.

“Bangabandhu used to like playing with children. When he was playing with children, he seemed like a child.

“But it is unfortunate that even children were not spared in 1975 carnage. Children and women had not been killed even during Karbala tragedy,” she said.

She said that following the footsteps of Bangabandhu, her government had taken various steps for the welfare of the children, including establishment of schools in every area and measures to protect them from social menaces like terrorism and militancy.

“Coming in power again through the 2008 election, we’ve done a lot further for the welfare of children,” said Sheikh Hasina, highlighting various measures and laws taken for the children during her regime.

Noting that Bangladesh today attained the status of a developing country, she said: “We’ll definitely make Bangladesh the developed and prosperous Sonar Bangla. It’s our commitment.”

In this context, she mentioned her government’s vision 2041 and Delta Plan-2100.

“I’ve prepared a plan over how this Bangladesh would develop till 2100.”

Sheikh Hasina reiterated that her government’s plans focus on making the future of children bright and decent.

ALSO READ: Hasina calls for more collaboration to ensure food security

“Our goal is that our children would remain safe and get a beautiful life.”

Bangabandhu’s grandsons – Sheikh Hasina’s son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Sheikh Rehana’s son Radwan Mujib Siddiq were present, along with cabinet members, members of parliament and Awami League central leaders, Gopalganj Zila Parishad Chairman and AL’s district unit president Chowdhury Emdadul Huque.

Sheikh Hasina also inaugurated the six-day Mujib Borsha Folk Fair to be held at Government Sheikh Mujibur Rahman College premises in Tungipara from March 21-26.

She said Awami League and its associate bodies will arrange programmes in Tungipara on separate days from March 18 to 25 to mark the Mujib Year.

Categories
-Top News COVID-19

Soon, Covid-19 jab to children from age 5-11

Currently, children 11 and under are only eligible for a vaccine if they have medical conditions that put them at serious risk of complications from coronavirus…reports Asian Lite News

Authorities will offer a coronavirus vaccine to almost six million children from age 5 to 11, officials said Wednesday.

The government said young children will be offered a low-dose COVID-19 shot on a non-urgent basis beginning in April in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also announced similar measures.

Parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of Covid-19 as we learn to live with this virus, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.

The government’s independent vaccine advisory committee said while the virus does not pose a threat to most children, a very small number who are infected will develop serious disease.

Around 85% of the 12 and older population in the UK has been fully vaccinated, but the country has lagged behind the United States and European countries like France, Germany and Italy in vaccinating younger children.

Currently, children 11 and under are only eligible for a vaccine if they have medical conditions that put them at serious risk of complications from coronavirus.

Authorities said Wednesday that young children will be offered two 10-microgram doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, with an interval of at least 12 weeks between doses.

New coronavirus infections have fallen in many parts of the UK, although the number of cases by age group remained the highest among schoolchildren. The official statistics agency reported Wednesday that around 1 in 13 or 7.6% of children ages 2 to 11 were likely to have had Covid-19 last week.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to outline his government’s long-term strategy for living with Covid on Feb 21.

Johnson said last week that all remaining domestic restrictions in England, including the legal requirement for infected individuals to self-isolate, could be lifted within weeks.

England has already scrapped most restrictive measures, such as mandatory face masks and vaccine passports for entering nightclubs and large events. Northern Ireland has lifted all legal restrictions.

Scotland has taken a more cautious approach. Face coverings still are required in indoor public spaces, and nightclubs check vaccine passports.

ALSO READ-US reports over 2.9 mn child Covid cases in a month

Categories
-Top News World News

SPECIAL 2022: Unicef Concerns over children’s safety

The number of confirmed cases of abduction and sexual violence increased at alarming rates during the first three months of 2021 — by more than 50 and 10 per cent, respectively…reports Asian Lite News.

Armed conflict, intercommunal violence and insecurity continued to take a toll on thousands of children throughout 2021, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

As a result of protracted and new conflicts, UNICEF has documented grave violations against young people in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and northern Ethiopia.

Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director, on Friday said conflict parties continue to show a dreadful disregard for children’s rights year after year, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Children are suffering, and children are dying because of this callousness. Every effort should be made to keep these children safe from harm,” she added.

In 2020, the UN verified 26,425 grave violations against children, but data is not yet available for 2021.

The number of confirmed cases of abduction and sexual violence increased at alarming rates during the first three months of 2021 — by more than 50 and 10 per cent, respectively.

Somalia had the highest number of verified abductions, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and countries in the Lake Chad Basin (Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Niger).

Verified cases of sexual violence were the highest in the DRC, Somalia and the Central African Republic.

This year marked a quarter of a century since the publication of Graca Machel’s seminal impact of war on children report, which urged the UN and international community to take action.

There have been 266,000 documented cases of grave violations committed against children across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America in the 16 years since the UN began verifying such cases.

UNICEF estimates that the actual numbers are much higher, according to the 2005 UN-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism.

Afghanistan has the highest number of verified child casualties since 2005. Globally, the country accounts for 27 per cent of all verified child casualties with more than 28,500 incidents.

The Middle East and North Africa are home to the highest number of confirmed attacks on schools and hospitals, with 22 in the first six months of this year.

UNICEF stressed conflict-affected girls and boys are subjected to unspeakable horrors on a daily basis that no human should have to endure.

The first is the persistent and growing threat of explosive weapons, especially in populated areas.

Over 3,900 children were killed and maimed as a result of explosive weapons and remnants of war in 2020.

Children are often subjected to grave human rights violations.

Among the UN-verified cases of abductions in 2020, 37 per cent led to the recruitment and use of children in war.

UNICEF is urging all conflict parties to establish formal action plans.

Only 37 such plans have been signed since 2005 by parties to conflict, which UNICEF called “a shockingly low number, given the stakes.”

“Ultimately, children living through war will only be safe when parties to conflict take concrete action to protect them and stop committing grave violations,” Fore said.

ALSO READ-UNESCO to celebrate the Arabic Language Day on 18 Dec

Categories
Dubai News UAE News

Majid Al Futtaim announces launch of playful project for Tilal Al Ghaf

Majid Al Futtaim announces launch of playful project for Tilal Al Ghaf

Majid Al Futtaim Communities, part of Majid Al Futtaim Properties, announced the launch of a new child-led design initiative in collaboration with the Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai (RGS)…reports Asian Lite News

The Tilal Al Ghaf Playful Spaces project aims to develop innovative playgrounds created by children, for children, at its flagship community in Dubai.

Majid Al Futtaim announces launch of playful project for Tilal Al Ghaf

To create playgrounds that are child-centric by design, RGS Guildford Dubai pupils of all ages will work closely with Majid Al Futtaim Communities’ experienced team of architects, designers and urban planners throughout the conceptualisation, design and planning process. The first phase of the collaboration, which is planned for early 2022, aims to capture ideas, develop concepts, and produce initial designs through a series of workshops with the school’s pupils that will be facilitated by design thinking experts. The output of these workshops will be assessed for feasibility prior to the final concepts and then design models will be presented to participating RGS Guildford Dubai pupils for feedback.

HAWAZEN ESBER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MAJID AL FUTTAIM COMMUNITIES: “The Tilal Al Ghaf Playful Spaces Project reinforces our delivery of sustainable communities built to deliver an exceptional lifestyle to everyone who lives, works and plays there. To be truly sustainable, however, communities have to be inclusive – and yet children are rarely, if ever, consulted on urban planning or placemaking matters. By not involving the younger generation, we miss a valuable opportunity.”

The Playful Spaces Project represents the next phase of consumer-centricity for Majid Al Futtaim Communities, leveraging inter-generational collaboration and child-led participatory design practices to deliver community spaces that are both inspirational and entirely fit for purpose. If the Tilal Al Ghaf Project proves successful, potential exists for this to be applied as a model for Majid Al Futtaim Communities’ lifestyle destinations across the region.

He continued: ” By putting the play into placemaking and by looking at the world through the eyes of the child, we unlock the potential to reimagine our community spaces and reframe how every resident relates to the environment around us. This needs to be a central element to how we build our future cities to ensure that nobody gets left behind.”

In addition to the tangible developed outcome, the Playful Spaces Project aims to give children a platform by which their voices can be heard and their contributions valued whilst helping to hone their design-thinking capabilities.

Craig Lamshed, Founding Principal, Royal Grammar School Guildford, Dubai, commented: “Harnessing and developing young people’s imagination and creative thinking is something that we are passionate about at RGSGD. The Playful Spaces project is a brilliant initiative that will give our pupils the chance to explore their own creativity, whilst having a direct impact on shaping their own community. We prepare our pupils to be future ready and I can’t think of a better initiative to be involved with, that is really thinking towards the future.”

ALSO READ: Dubai Records 69% Rise in New Businesses

The sister school of one of the most academically successful all-boys schools in the UK, RGS Guildford Dubai (RGSGD) officially opened in the city as a co-educational school for boys and girls from age 3 in September 2021. Benefiting from over 500 years of pioneering heritage, knowledge, and practice of what makes a great education, RGSGD maximises the learning experience for each of its pupils through exceptional teaching, a curriculum that maintains a balance between ‘what’ is learnt and ‘how’ it is learnt, and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. Since opening, the school that sits on an impressive 40,000 square metre campus in the Tilal Al Ghaf development, has been establishing new benchmarks in quality education, allowing children to learn and grow in a global city renowned for its diversity of dynamic mindset.

Categories
Dubai Events UAE News

Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher

Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher

Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), met with the youngest Emirati publisher, AlDhabi AlMheiri, owner of Rainbow Chimney…reports Asian Lite News

Bodour Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA), met with the youngest Emirati publisher, AlDhabi AlMheiri, owner of Rainbow Chimney, and spoke to her about the future of local publishing, during a meeting with members of the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) as part of a series of meetings with pandemic-hit publishing markets.

Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher

Al Qasimi praised the EPA’s journey over the past few years in growing its member network from five to 200, saying this was an indicator of the Emirati publishing industry’s willingness to seize new opportunities, be methodical, collaborate, and learn and grow.

She reinforced the IPA’s commitment to boosting the sector’s resilience and facilitating the publishers’ access to new markets and opportunities. She highlighted the fact that the profound disruptions in the past year prompted a new appraisal of the sector’s pre-COVID business model.

Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher

The IPA’s efforts are directed towards helping members build a new future for the sector. Among the latest initiatives and projects designed in response to publishers’ new and emerging needs worldwide are the International Sustainable Publishing and Industry Resilience (Inspire) Charter, and the soon-to-be-launched IPA Academy.

Through a series of training courses in several languages, the IPA Academy will be a global resource designed to close the skills gap in secondary markets by enhancing the publishers’ digital and technical capacities.

Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher

To promote the long-term development of the sector, Al Qasimi also highlighted the importance of dialogue, knowledge-sharing and cooperation between all active stakeholders in the publishing ecosystem, including publishers, printing houses, libraries, authors, distributors and designers. “Such a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach will boost industry-wide solidarity and strengthen its capacity to face unprecedented challenges,” she said.

ALSO READ: Sharjah hosts 16 UNESCO World Book Capitals

She called on the EPA to participate in the IPA’s 33rd International Publishers Congress in November 2022 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The IPA president’s meeting with the EPA members follows a series of meetings this year with publishers’ associations in Spain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Georgia.

  • Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
  • Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
  • Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
  • Bodour Al Qasimi meets youngest Emirati publisher
Categories
-Top News

Social Platforms Flamed over Child Safety

Tech giants Snap, TikTok, and YouTube are being grilled by US senators over worries that their apps, like Facebook, are harmful to children.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told the companies that everything they do is to add users, especially kids, and keep them on apps for longer, reports CNET.

Blumenthal said he has heard from parents about the “rabbit hole” teenagers go down when they log onto Snap, TikTok, and YouTube.

His office, which created accounts on TikTok and YouTube as part of their own research, also found that extreme dieting and eating disorder content is easy to find on these platforms.

“Like Big Tobacco, Big Tech has lured teens despite knowing its products can be harmful,” he said.

The hearing comes amid heightened scrutiny of social media giant Facebook, which is the subject of a series of stories based on leaked documents that suggest the company knows about the harm its platforms cause to the mental health of teenagers, as well as democracy and developing countries.

Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager who collected the cache of internal research and communications, has already testified before the Senate subcommittee. She also testified to Parliament on Monday.

The hearing also marks the first time Snap and TikTok have testified.

Snap is being represented by Jennifer Stout, the vice president of global public policy; TikTok by Michael Beckerman, vice president and head of public policy, Americas; and YouTube by Leslie Miller, vice president of government affairs and public policy.

Stout tried to distinguish Snapchat from its rival Facebook, noting that the company was built as “an antidote to social media”.

Unlike Facebook, Snapchat doesn’t have a News Feed and the disappearing app is being used by people to communicate privately with their friends.

“We have a moral responsibility to take into account the best interest of our users and everything we do. And we understand that there is more work to be done,” she said.

Beckerman said TikTok has built features to protect younger users. People under 16 have their TikTok accounts set to private automatically.

“There is no finish line when it comes to protecting children and teens. The challenges are complex and we are determined to work hard and keep the platform safe and create age-appropriate experiences,” he said.

YouTube told Congress in prepared remarks that it removed 7 million accounts believed to belong to young children and preteens in the first three quarters.

The company said on YouTube Kids and YouTube, autoplay videos are off by default for users under 18.

YouTube also plans to launch more parental controls in the YouTube Kids app autoplay is off by default, including the ability for a parent to choose a locked default autoplay setting.

Categories
Arab News News World

Hamas pressures Israel to accept prisoner swap deal

Hamas pressures Israel to accept prisoner swap deal

The dodging of the Israeli government in the prisoners’ exchange issue will not work…reports Asian Lite News

Hazem Qassem, the spokesman of the Islamic Hamas Movement, said that the families of the Israeli captives “will not see their children unless the Israeli government responds to the terms of Palestinian resistance”, in a bid for a prisoner swap deal.

“The dodging of the Israeli government in the prisoners’ exchange issue will not work,” Xinhua news agency quoted Qassem as saying in a statement.

Hamas pressures Israel to accept prisoner swap deal

Qassem also demanded Israel stop its punitive measures against the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and release the corpses of Palestinian militants buried in military graveyards for talks on a new exchange deal.

In 2017, Hamas announced that it held four Israelis, without revealing whether they are dead or alive.

ALSO READ: Israel FM calls for peace with Palestinians and Arab nations

Qassem’s remarks coincided with the talks launched last week in Egypt’s capital Cairo between a senior Hamas delegation, headed by Hamas’ chief Ismail Haniyeh, and senior Egyptian security intelligence officials, on a possible prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel.

In 2011, Egypt brokered a prisoners’ exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, where the latter freed the Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit, while the Jewish state released more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.