Al Ain Book Festival 2025, organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) from 24 to 30 November under the theme ‘All Eyes on Al Ain’, presents a selection of performances by school students featuring purposeful culture-related content, stories, songs, and competitions delivered in engaging formats.
The aim of hosting the performances is to deepen students’ connection with books, nurture their love of reading, and bring to life the vision of the UAE’s ‘Year of Community’ initiative.
Student performances are a key component of the festival’s programme, taking place at Al Ain Square – Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, where students not only participate, but actively create and perform content that lends the event a distinctive character and vibrancy. These performances help refine participants’ intellectual and artistic skills, introduce them to the worlds of storytelling and imagination, instil in them a culture of reading, and enhance their expressive abilities. Their presence reflects the UAE community’s commitment to supporting emerging talents and reinforces the role of schools as active cultural partners.
This year’s student performance programme includes heritage-themed singing segments accompanied by choreographed movement, performed by children from the Nahyan Al-Awal Kindergarten in traditional attire, along with story reading showcases under the title ‘From Skills to Success: Towards a Future Shaped by Skills’, and a shadow puppet performance where children narrate stories by blending light and shadow in an innovative artistic format that gives tales a compelling visual and emotional dimension.
The agenda of activities also features children’s competitions organised in collaboration with Burjeel Holdings Hospital in Al Ain. This initiative strengthens partnerships among community institutions and highlights the importance of social values, family cohesion, and supporting new generations, in line with the ‘Year of Community’ concept.
Al Ain Book Festival is witnessing notable attendance from school students, both as participants in school performances that enrich the event, and as visitors looking to benefit from the festival’s wealth of knowledge and culture. The presence of school delegations adds significant value to the event by creating a rich educational environment outside the classroom and opening new horizons for students to connect with knowledge through direct experience.
Children’s engagement with the performances fosters positivity among all visitors, transforming the festival into a lively space that celebrates childhood and creativity. This reflects the UAE’s vision to build a cohesive society of avid readers that believes in the role of young generations in shaping the future.
