Night schools exemplify the concept of lifelong learning. Designed specifically for those who work during the day, they offer flexible opportunities for self-improvement and education. On a more symbolic note, they are a refusal to be mired in complacency or personal stasis – a motivation to keep improving.
Night School at the Jameel Arts Centre is built upon these tenets, but with a specific focus: to learn more about Dubai and engage with the city and its history. The annual initiative, which is free to attend, is in its fourth year and is being held under the theme Lifelines.
It is bringing together a small group of residents for a month-long programme of talks, workshops and film screenings which offer a novel way to reflect on the city. Night School features scholars and experts who will cover subjects ranging from heritage preservation to people’s relationships with Dubai’s cats, birds and plants. Given Dubai's position as a regional hub, these topics often expand to include other cities. The programme is open only to those who applied in advance, but several of the subjects are being addressed in public lectures.
Architect and writer Todd Reisz says the programme continues to build upon its formative principles. Night School was first held in 2022 as part of the public programme accompanying Reisz’s exhibition at the arts centre. The exhibition, Off Centre / On Stage, showcased 58 images of Dubai taken in the 1970s as the emirate kicked off its southward expansion and began positioning itself in the global stage.
“The first year was based upon a class that I used to teach architecture in the US,” Reisz says. “I would teach about cities of the Gulf. There are all these scholars here whose work I used to teach students in the US, and they're all here, and in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi. I could invite them to be here and kind of do that same class.”
The school’s popularity was immediately evident, and it quickly became an annual event, expanding to cover areas beyond architecture.
“You see that in the list of speakers,” Reisz says. “We’re not looking for people to be speakers about specifically architecture or urbanism. There are all sorts of various fields in academia or researchers whose work can influence the way we see and live in cities.”
Speakers taking part in Lifelines include Abdullah M Alsharekh, an academic at the department of archaeology at King Saud University whose work touches upon the prehistory of Saudi Arabia; John Thabiti Willis, an associate professor of African history at Sharjah’s Africa Institute; Neha Vora, an anthropology professor at the American University of Sharjah; and Marvi Mazhar, an architect and researcher whose current research focuses upon the representation and production of Karachi’s urban and rural ecology.
Most of these speakers will be hosting lectures that are open to the public. In Ecologies of Homemaking, on Saturday, Vora will highlight how residents in UAE cities interact with birds, plants and cats. Tending to the Ruins, on January 23, will feature Mazhar and will draw comparisons between Karachi and Dubai, showing how old and new structures inform the urban landscape of the two port cities. On January 19, Thabiti Willis will show how the heritage of Gulf pearl divers is embedded in song and art. Finally, a film programme by Hind Mezaina, on January 25, will feature four short works under the theme Unravelings.
Uns Kattan, deputy director and head of learning and research at Art Jameel, says Night School has grown to become a core part of the institution’s annual public programming.
“What we hope to do through these collaborations is focus on lifelong learning,” she says. “There is a huge consideration that the knowledge that is embedded in arts and culture is meaningful and important.”
However, while most events are either held in academic settings or within arts events, Kattan says Art Jameel aims to bridge that gap and “allow an opportunity for people to come together in a meaningful manner and talk about the city that they live in, in a way that is engaged and aware”.
Dubai, in particular, benefits from such discussions. They offer a chance to “just think about a city that is so fast-paced, and doesn’t sometimes let people take a minute and come together, slow down and really express and discuss the history and urban experience”, says Kattan.
Night School attempts to offer Dubai’s residents a means to mindfully navigate the city while also providing a setting for communal learning.
“In the three past years, we’ve had a little over 45 alumni of the programme,” Kattan says. “They've gone on to form their own community. It’s such a pleasure to see that a lot of them have stayed in touch.
“They do their own urban walks and gatherings around the city. Many projects have emerged out of this programme as well. The long-term impact has been so amazing to see.”
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Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
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About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
THE SPECS
Range Rover Sport Autobiography Dynamic
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
Price: Dh633,435
On sale: now
The five pillars of Islam
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key developments in maritime dispute
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
