Global Village hosts 1000 participants to celebrate Universal Children's Day

Organised at the Global Village Amphitheatre, the event was held as part of Global Village's Corporate social responsibility and its commitment in supporting and contributing to children's causes in the UAE.

A majority of the participants at Global Village were members of different social welfare associations such as Pratham, Red Crescent, Special Families Support (SFS) and The Children's Foundation (TFC). The main highlight of the gathering was the art competition where children were divided into teams and each team given a topic. The aim of the competition was to enable children to freely express themselves on current relevant issues.

First celebrated in 1953, Universal Children's Day was established to encourage all countries to institute a day that would promote mutual exchange and understanding among children and initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of children around the world. It was also chosen as the day to celebrate childhood.

Zareen Khan, an official of the organizing committee Pratham, a group of professionals that supports awareness on the importance of education said, "Universal Children's Day is a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness on the significance of children in our society. Through art competitions at Global Village, we were delighted to witness children's views on issues such as environment, family values, and equality."

While attractive prizes were distributed to the winners, entertainment shows such as Barney and Bob the Builder were also organized for the gathering. Meet and greet sessions were organized so that children could pose with their favourite cartoon characters. The presence of clowns and performers added to the excitement of the evening.

A touching moment during the event was witnessed when twelve-year-old Johann Mendes and Twenty-three-year-old Nilofar Saleem, special needs participants from the Special Families Support, inspired the audience with their poems and drew a prolonged round of applause.