• Humaid Al-Houti: Consolidating national identity and the values of loyalty and belonging in children

• The competition attracts children from 7 to 15 years old, stimulating their creativity and imagination

Abu Dhabi: Saturday, November 1, 2025

The General Secretariat of the Khalifa Award for Education one of the Erth Zayed Philanthropies institutions, announced the launch of the “Khalifa Children’s Creativity Storytelling Competition” as a creative competition for children in the age group from 7 to 15 years, on the sidelines of their participation in the activities of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Week 2025, which will be held from November 17^th to 23^rd, 2025 across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra under the theme "Together We Can Make Abu Dhabi a Family-Friendly Emirate".

Humaid Al Houti, Secretary-General of the Award, emphasized the significance of this initiative, which aligns with the mission and objectives of the Khalifa Award for Education and falls within the framework of close cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA). It aims to support creativity and talent development from a young age, enhance children’s narrative imagination, and encourage children aged 7 to 15 to express their ideas in a creative manner that reveals their promising talents in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Al-Houti explained that the Khalifa Award for Education presents the Khalifa International Award for Early Learning Field, considered the first of its kind in the world, which aims to shed light on the best international practices in caring for and empowering this group in various parts of the world. Hence, this competition was launched as part of the activities of the Early Childhood Week 20025 in Abu Dhabi. It is viewed as a global platform for creativity, excellence, and leadership in child care and empowerment, highlighting its role within the community system.

The Secretarty-General further added that the competition includes a number of pivotal goals, foremost of which is strengthening national identity, refining the child’s personality, expanding his awareness of the principles of loyalty and belonging to the homeland and wise leadership, as well as consolidating the principles of good and positive citizenship, community service, preserving the environment, and encouraging concepts of sustainability, in addition to enhancing the status of the Arabic language in the hearts of participating children, developing imagination and literary creativity among young students, instilling positive educational and human values, and providing the opportunity to discover early talents in the field of children’s literature.

Humaid Al-Houti stated, “The competition targets two categories: The first category, 'Creative Buds' for children aged 7-9 years with an average of 150 to 200 words, and the second category, 'Emerging Writers' for children aged 10-15 years with an average of 200 to 300 words. Registration for the competition begins on November 1^st and ends on November 10^th. The names of the winners are announced during the activities of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Week 2025. From 17^th to 23^rd November.

Al-Houti added that the competition includes a number of criteria for evaluating the submitted story, including sound and simple Arabic language suitable for the age stage, creativity and imagination, clarity of the story structure and logical sequence of events (beginning - plot - end), educational and human values, brevity, and adherence to the specified number of words for each category.

The competition includes several terms and conditions for participation, including: The story must be written in the correct Arabic language and in a style suitable for the target age group. The story will be accepted regardless of the date of its composition, provided that it has not been previously published or printed. It is preferable for the story to include drawings or illustrations created by the child himself. The jury has the right to exclude any entry proven to be copied or written using artificial intelligence tools. When a lack of originality in the composition is proven, the entry is canceled, even after the results are announced, and the award entitlement is canceled. The jury has the power to withhold or rearrange the awards according to the criteria.

It is worth declaring that all entries are considered the property of the Award, and it has the right to publish the winning or distinguished works across its media platforms. 3 winners are chosen from each age category, bringing the total to 6 distinguished winners. Each winner will receive a valuable cash prize as an incentive to continue creativity, and a shield and an accredited certificate of excellence will be awarded to the winners in appreciation of their literary talent.