Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) announced the launch of the third series of Takween 2022, a programme aimed at providing educational, recreational and physical activities for children, parents, early childhood practitioners and the community.

Running throughout the summer vacation, until the end of September, the programme falls within ECA’s efforts to promote the development and well-being of young children, raise the public awareness of the importance of early childhood care, and encourage community members to contribute to empowering young children.

Organised in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) and other partners in the private sector, Takween activities mainly focus on developing and improving children's skills and physical and mental health. In addition to emphasising parents' role in supporting their children’s development, the programme also intends to introduce parents and practitioners to key practices in terms of ensuring children receive the best care and education from their families and communities.

The prgoramme's agenda includes "Mira’s Stories", which will help publish and distribute six short stories for kids, as well as reading sessions and interactive workshops led by Emirati writer Basma Al Misbahi. The workshops aim to encourage children to read, develop their imagination, and improve their language skills. Additionally, more than 30 art, recreational and interactive children's workshops will be organised in July and August.

Thamer Rashed Al Qasimi, Executive Director of ECA’s Special Projects and Partnerships Sector, said, "Launching Takween 2022 reflects ECA’s commitment to promoting optimal child development from pregnancy to eight years old. The Authority also seeks to promote a supportive environment for the development and well-being of young children, while offering parents and caregivers opportunities to engage and interact with their communities."

Furthermore, Takween activities will feature an intensive training course entitled "Coding for Kids", held in collaboration with DCT Abu Dhabi. The course will comprise two cohorts trained in two waves at Children's Library in the Cultural Foundation and all branches of "Maktaba" across the emirate. The course helps improve creative thinking, problem-solving and other skills in kids, enabling them to understand and keep pace with future sciences. Takween also encourages children engagement by promoting other useful children-related activities across Abu Dhabi.

From her side, Shaikha Al Muhairi, Director of the Libraries Department at DCT Abu Dhabi, emphasised the DCT’s keenness on supporting all activities encouraging children to innovate in various areas, as they are the future leaders. She underscored the readiness of Maktaba’s branches to host the planned training courses.

"We are working with our partners in the public and private sectors to promote the cognitive development and cultural awareness among young people. Through our fruitful partnership with ECA, we are looking forward to contributing to the success of Takween Programme, as a way to promote child development and wellbeing," Al Muhairi added.

Virtual workshops on early intervention will be held within the programme to raise parents’ awareness of the importance of early identification of children with developmental delays, as well as the educational, curative and preventive services needed for those children. Apart from publishing several guides and leaflets addressing maternal and child-related topics, ECA will conduct specialised training for workers in sports facilities on child protection requirements.

This series also features some community activities to underline the importance of early childhood. These include Time Well-Spent initiative that encourages family members to effectively spend mealtime with children without using mobile devices in Abu Dhabi’s cafes and restaurants.

Additionally, Takween will feature sessions as part of the Voice of Child Panel, a community initiative launched by ECA with the aim of establishing a panel representing some of the emirate’s parents and children. The panel seeks to hear the views of parents and children to ensure the voice of every child in Abu Dhabi is heard.

On the other hand, ECA urged parents and practitioners to visit Parents’ Platform (www.eca.gov.ae) to join the programme and enrich their knowledge about child-related topics.