Students to interact with Al Neyadi during ISS stay
Students from schools all over the UAE will be able to interact with astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi every week during the entire six months of his stay at the International Space Station (ISS). The initiative was announced during the opening of the 15th edition of the Emirates Literature Festival in Dubai on Wednesday.
According to Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation (ELF), the programme called ELF in Space is expected to engage, excite and educate students across the UAE. They will also be able to interact with other astronauts such as Hazza Al Mansouri, Nora Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla.
Partnership
This is part of a partnership between Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre and the Emirates Literature Foundation. “Reading is also a key to the development of education, research and development and lifelong learning and expanding our horizon,” said Salem Al Marri, director general of the space centre. “These are all essential to a developing space programme which is why this partnership is vital to us.”
The partnership will also see ELF support all educational content for Dr Al Neyadi during his stay at the ISS. Al Marri said he hopes the initiative will support in building a new generation of scientists, researchers and dreamers who will contribute to the UAE'S space programme.
Sheikha Latifa’s book
One of the most notable events during the literature festival will be the discussion of the book Through My Eyes by Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of the
late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the former deputy ruler of Dubai and the UAE minister of finance and industry.
The book, which provides rare insights into the life of the leader who was the world's longest serving minister of finance when he died in March 2021, is a tribute to the overwhelming love and respect Sheikha Latifa has for her father's life and values.
It is also a remembrance and celebration of the many ways in which Sheikh Hamdan touched the lives of countless people.