A self-portrait by Mark Abdel Malak shows the fourth-year pupil with his mouth agape, shouting “let me out” in a spiked speech bubble. Half of his face is concealed behind a tie-dye-like swirl of colours, each with a word that is indicative of the times.
“Stay home” in red, “bored” in yellow, “distancing” in purple and “virus” written in the green and grey stream, complete with sketches of the Covid-19 virus structure.
The work seems to reflect on the emotions that Abdel Malek, and other students, are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Abdel Malak, a student at Raffles International School, is one of 314 students whose artworks are being shown in an online exhibition by the Innoventures Education Group.
The show, which launched on Sunday, June 28, comes after an art competition that the Innoventures Education Group held across its five schools in the UAE. The annual competition, which carried out its sixth iteration this year, was held under the theme Journeys.
“Initially, the competition was going to be held under the Expo 2020 theme,” says Wafaa Mohamed, an art teacher at Raffles International School.
As the coronavirus pandemic took hold – and the Dubai Expo was pushed to 2021 – Mohamed says the theme was changed to reflect the circumstances.
“I wanted the theme to be open to interpretation, so students could express what they were going through. These are unprecedented times and they bring unique challenges, whether related to health, education or family.”
In the competition call, students were asked to reflect on a story of change and development. “Whether it’s your journey or that of someone close to you, whether it’s a journey of healing, success, evolving or empowerment. Each journey has a special significance that adds to your experiences and values.”
Another work in the exhibition is Morning Walk Journey by Aarish Kulaye, a second-year pupil at Raffles International School. It shows the walk Kulaye takes around his neighbourhood in the mornings, with triangular and lollipop-shaped trees, cheerful cats and a large droopy-eyed bird looking languidly across at a smiling sun.
The artwork is charming and imaginative, and it won Kulaye first place in the competition’s 2D category. The contest included three other categories, including 3D, photography and video art.
“Students from grades one to 13 took part in the competition,” Mohamed says. “We first held online workshops for two weeks in March, where we elaborated on the theme and helped students find materials to work with.”
As going out for art supplies was not possible, especially in the first few weeks of the pandemic, owing to strict restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the virus, Mohamed says she advised pupils to work with whatever they could find at home.
“From markers to coffee beans and even ketchup,” she says. “The goal was to have them creatively express themselves.”
Pupils were then given a few months to work on their projects before submitting them earlier this month.
“We sat down to sort everything out and then held an online meeting on June 20, in which judges discussed the works for more than five hours and picked out the winners.”
The winning artworks were selected by a five-person jury that included established artists from Egypt, Sudan, Germany, Saudi Arabia and India.
“They each picked out their top three works and then also two others for Judges’ Awards, which are works that didn’t make it to the top three but deserved recognition anyway,” Mohamed says.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20Killer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Fincher%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Fassbender%2C%20Tilda%20Swinton%2C%20Charles%20Parnell%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
