Najla Al Owais here.

Whilst I was waiting for my kids to finish a looming workshop in the House of Wisdom, Sharjah (see House of Wisdom #UAEReads posts here and here), I started browsing through their children’s library, my favorite part of the library. It wasn’t long before I had accumulated a few books to borrow, when I spied Young Voices of Arabia, and was instantly intrigued by it.

The anthology is a direct output of the Voices of Future Generations – a writing initiative launched internationally in 2014. HH Sheikha Hissa bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Goodwill Ambassador for this initiative in the Gulf region and it has been held in the UAE since 2019. Young Voices of Arabia, the Gulf chapter of Voices of Future Generations, is a writing initiative held under the patronage of the National Commission for Education, Culture and Science for students aged eight to twelve with the aim of having them interact with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. The students are encouraged to create stories around these themes and context, with the added element of being creative and imaginative. Each anthology of the winning short stories includes a heartwarming Foreword by HH Sheikh Hissa bint Hamdan Al Maktoum, explaining the reach and volume of each edition and version of this writing competition. In the 2020-2021 anthology’s foreword, she mentions that they reached out to children of determination (the term used in the UAE to refer to students with special educational needs) in that year’s round of competition to ensure that they are included in the initiative.

The stories are split into their respective SDGs, with some of the short stories belonging to an overlap of SDGs – as is the case with our own SURE Plus Curation of SDG book list which you can see here and here. The anthology includes a picture of each author, their age, along with a short biography. The anthologies are available in English and Arabic (with the stories translated in either language depending on the submission language of the winning entries).

The anthologies are published by the Emirates Literature Foundation and are presented during their annual Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai (make sure to check out our upcoming post on the #EmiratesLitFest here to be published on March 28th). The Young Voices of Arabia website (through the Emirates Literature Foundation) offers students, parents and teachers’ information on entry guidelines, as well as resources to support the budding young authors, and an overview of the opportunities awaiting winners. You can also either download or purchase the books from here.

Here is a brief peek into stories that called out to me from the three anthologies I found in the House of Wisdom:

Young Voices Of Arabia 2021 

Authors: See below. Illustrators: See Below
Published by ELF Publishing (2022) ISBN: 9789948884299. Borrowed via Library.

Young Voices Of Arabia 2020 

Authors: See below. Illustrators: See Below
Published by ELF Publishing (2020) ISBN: 9789948859123. Borrowed via Library.

Young Voices Of Arabia 2022

Authors: See below. Illustrators: See Below Translator: Ranya Abdelrahman
Published by ELF Publishing (2023) ISBN: 9789948800965. Borrowed via Library.

In the first Young Voices of Arabia anthology, I Can Do it Too by Meghna Snethil Kumar is a poignant short story that has themes of gender equality (SDG 5) and peace, justice and strong institutions (SDG 16). Mira is a young girl who loves to play sports, mainly basketball. She faces a challenge in joining her school team because she’s a girl. With her parents’ support who give her the confidence to use her voice, as well as reaching out to her school, Mira finds she can achieve her dream.

The illustrations by Aysha Al Hamrani accompanying the text are eye catching, and reminiscent of the comics style of illustration. I also especially liked the fact that it included both Arabic and English text in the artwork themselves.

In the second Young Voices of Arabia anthology, we find Inspiration To Desperation by 10-year-old Inayah Fathima Faeez. It is a lovely short story about young Sierra who was moved by a visit to a parallel universe, Inspiration, to write a short story about having a voice and using it to protect Mother Earth.

The SDGS her short story falls under are SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities and SDG13: Climate Action. The lovely nostalgic illustrations by Ari Puguh go very well with the story down to the smallest details.

In the third Young Voices of Arabia 2022 anthology, Mariam Eslam Mostafa Kandiel pens a heartwarming tale of young Hassan in The Monster That Wasn’t There. Hassan is the middle child of an Emirati family and he decides to face the problems plaguing his community head on. With the support of the people in his village, he found a simple solution to long-term problems. The short story has themes of resilience, determination, courage and familial bonds and falls under the SDGS 3, 8 and 9. Noha Gma Mahmod Atta’s illustrations go hand in hand with the story, and the colors used lend another layer to the story.

For interested students, the fifth round of Young Voices of Arabia is open now and you can submit your creative short story via this website.

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About the authors and illustrators in the anthology:

Authors featured in the first anthology (2019 – 2020): Aamna Hamad Salem Obaid Saif Alsuwaidi, AbdulKareem Ismat Ghazal, Abrar Sirohey, Aditi Ghandi, Ahmed Ismail Zendah, Alyazia Salaheddin Khamis Al Kaabi, Hazza Mohamed Rashded Al Ameri, Ioana Teodorova Stefanova, Joshua Melwin, Lama Ehab Almousa, Matrah Ebrahim Saleh, Meghna Senthil Kumar, Mir Faraz, Nour Ahmed Alkhatib, Saira Thomas, Saoud Ahmed Alkaabi, Sashini Manikandan, Shahid Fayis, Suhaila Abdelhaleem Mansour Mohamed, Ward Wissam Al Halabi.

Illustrations featured in the first anthology (2019 – 2020): Aisha Hilal, Alya Abdelrahim AlHamadi, Ari Puguh, Asma Enayah, Asmaa Alhosan, Aysha Al Hamrani, Dina Fawakhiri, Khadija Al Saeedi, Khulood Ghuloom Aljanaahi, Nouf Alismail, Sanaa Al Maktoum, Sarah Mohamed Hammad, Stacey Siebritz, Sura Ghazwan Abdul Jabbar, Tarfa Khalid, Tasneem Amiruddin, Wafa Ibrahim.

Authors featured in the second anthology (2020 – 2021): Aamna Hamad Salem Obaid Saif Alsuwaidi, Abdulla Ismail Abushabab, Abdullah Mohammad Abdullah Alrabab’ah, Abrar Ahmed Sirohey, Advay Saravana Kumar, Daniel Petric, Diniru Sathnidu Dissanayake, Ethan Dsouza, Hania Asaad Sherif, Hassan Nidal Hassan Awad, Hazza Ali Salem Mohamed Al Yileili, Inayah Fatima Faeez, Jaivardhan Manish Nawani, Kripa Dixit, Maktoum Salim Khamis Salim Almazrouei, Mara Machado-Mullet, Mariam Eslam Mostafa Kandiel, Mezna Najeeb, Mirana Gabin Mathew, Salim Ahmed Salim Alkaabi, Seba Awadh Mohammed Almusad, Shaivi Kalwani.

Illustrators featured in the second anthology (2020 – 2021): Aisha Hilal, Alya Abdelrahim AlHamadi, Ari Puguh, Asmaa Alhosani, Ayesha Almheiri, Aysha Al Hamrani, Basma Hosam, Dina Fawakhiri, Esraa Magdy Gaber, Khadija Al Saeedi, Khulood Ghuloom Aljanaahi, Maitha Al Khayat, Marion Battaglia, Maryah Al Rashed, Noha Gmal, Sanaa Al Maktoum, Sarah Mohamed Hammad, Stacey Siebritz, Sura Ghazwan Abdul Jabbar, Tarfa Khalid, Tasneem Amiruddin, Zainab Khaleel.

Cover and second anthology book design by Haifa Malhas

Authors featured in the third anthology (2022-2023): AbdulKareem Ghazal, Advika Gupta, Aisha Humaid Obaid AlKhayyal, Alex Abernethy, Chris Stanley, Hamad Ibrahim Saeed Alblooshi, Inaya Danish Zaidi, Inayah Fatimah Faeez, Khalid Ahmed Yousif Almushtaghil Alnaqbi, Mariam Eslam Mostafa Kandiel, Mohamed Hamad Mohamed Alzeyoudi, Mohammed Hamzah Siddiqui, Nourah Ahmed Yousif Almushtaghil Alnaqbi, Rodina Ahmed Atef Badr, Sadeen AlAqra, Sana Kaushik Priyadharshini, Sanvika Sandeep, Shaurya Chakravarty, Siddharth Manoj Vachali, Tala Khaled Ahmad Alhajeb, Zein Miziad Al Fattouhi Al Jundi.

Illustrators featured in the third anthology (2022-2023): Alia Al Hammadi, Ari Puguh, Aysha Saif Al Hamrani, Basma Hosam, Dina Fawakhiri, Fatima Raza, Khadija Alsaeedi, Khalid Mezaina, Khulood Ghuloom Mohammed Hassan Aljanaahi, Marion Battaglia, Maryah Al Rashed, Nivea Serrao, Noha Gmal Mahmod Atta, Sadie Sulaiman, Sarah Mohamed Hammad, Stacey Siebritz, Sura Ghazwan, Tasneem Amiruddin, Wafa Ibrahim Rashid Ali, Zainab Khale.

Cover and third anthology book design by Haifa Malhas.

Check out the Young Voices of Arabia Youtube videos:

Check out the Awarding Ceremony here:

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We invite you to pair this post with the Arabic/Emirati SDG booklists from our Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Plus project that we posted here and here.

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About the Voices of Future Generation Goodwill Ambassador in the Gulf Region:

Sheikha Hissa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the author of two books Tajaarub: From a Horsewoman’s Journey, and Through My Eyes: The Life of Sheikh Hamdan as Told by His Daughter. She is a passionate horsewoman, a writer and an inspiration to young and old. Read about her work as Goodwill Ambassador, and the books that shaped her youth here. Here is a news article on Sheikha Hissa.

Check out her books below:

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About the Guest Contributor for #UAEReads:

Najla Al Owais is a PhD candidate studying Math Education at UAEU. She has previously worked as a middle school mathematics teacher, and a freelance translator and interpreter. She is passionate about teaching mathematics, and is an avid reader, and loves finding the intersection between both mathematics and reading. She has a Bachelor’s of Science from Zayed University in Math Education and Masters of Arts from the American University of Sharjah in English-Arabic-English Translating and Interpreting. Wherever she goes, books find her. She hopes to one day publish her own book.

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#UAEReads strives to be reflective of the diverse demographic population that makes up the country of the United Arab Emirates (see Global Media Insight source of demographics as of 2024). Hence, we will be featuring literature coming from the major nationalities comprising the entire country: Emiratis, Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos, Egyptians – and other nationalities who have made UAE their home.

About the Guest Editor/Curator for March 2024 [#UAEReads]:

Myra Garces-Bacsal has served as a teacher educator for 15 years and has led several research projects on reading and social emotional learning, diverse picturebooks and teacher practices, psychology of high creatives and exceptional people, culturally responsive and inclusive education. She is a quintessential lover and creator of booklists (see her Social and Emotional Learning bookshelf here and other publications below). Myra serves as the Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies with the College of Education, UAE University. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who lives and breathes books and enjoys organizing events and festivals where fellow nerds converge and attempt to joyfully change the world.

Publications on booklists:

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Tupas, R. (2023). A diverse social and emotional learning booklist for gifted learners and advanced readers. Roeper Review, 45(1), 25-36. https://doi.org/10.1080/02783193.2022.2145397

Garces-Bacsal, R. M., Alhosani, N. M., Elhoweris, H., Al Ghufli, H. T., AlOwais, N. M., Baja, E. S., & Tupas, R. (2022). Using diverse picturebooks for inclusive practices and transformative pedagogies. In M. Efstratopoulou (Ed.), Rethinking Inclusion and Transformation in Special Education (pp. 72-92). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4680-5.ch005

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2021). Of grit and gumption, sass and verve: What gifted students can learn from multicultural picture book biographies. In S. R. Smith’s Handbook of giftedness and talent development in Australasian Pacific (pp. 431-453). Singapore: Springer International Handbooks of Education. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-981-13-3041-4_18

Garces-Bacsal, R. M. (2020). Diverse books for diverse children: Building an early childhood diverse booklist for social and emotional learning. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 22(1), 66-95. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798420901856