The UAE has been focusing on literary space with laying major focus on reading and writing. With that, the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth has now announced the launch of a creative literacy initiative ‘Writings in Isolation’ to giving a platform to the budding writers of the region.

On the occasion of the Emirati Writer’s Day which falls on May 26 every year, the ministry launched the initiative to launch a book wherein writers can submit their work through an application.

Through this initiative, the Ministry of Culture aims to promote cultural achievement and establish the status of the country as a launchpad of creativity in various cultural fields. The initiative aims to focus on the importance of writing, literary, and creative compositions in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic and the role of culture in promoting the values of solidarity and human convergence.

 
“The Ministry is encouraging and motivating creators and performers by launching initiatives aimed at making their literary creations known, especially incorporation with the Emirati Writer’s Day. Given the stage at which the world has passed during the Corona pandemic and the closures in many countries, the sense of isolation has dominated many, Noura bint Mohamed Al-Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, said, adding, “Through the publication of Writings in Isolation, we seek to document this phase to serve as a witness to a pandemic that has greatly affected all parts of the world, and has cast a shadow over all the details of people’s daily lives.”

The book will be divided into two segments—one for poetry and another one for narrative into categories of Nabti poetry, free poetry, prose poem and short stories. Emirati residents and Arab creators’ residents in the UAE can participate in the initiate. The language for the initiative will be in Arabic and the request will be open till July 26, 2021.

After the applicants submit their work, the Ministry will then publish a book of the selected work named ‘Writings in Isolation’. The book will be printed with 1000 copies and will be distributed to participating writers, government and private libraries, ministers, ambassadors, UAE and Arab media organizations, as well as holding signing parties at a number of book fairs and creative centres in the country.