Students win big as they design UAE’s victory salute
dubai — Over 15,000 students from 111 schools in Dubai were at their patriotic best as they decorated and coloured ceramic sculptures shaped as the three-fingered UAE victory salute. Of the 3,000 sculptures that were submitted for the ‘Victory Project’, the designers of three have walked away with prizes worth Dh110,000.
The Victory Project is a community initiative by the Global Village, specifically designed to instil patriotism among the students of the UAE. At the awarding ceremony, Gems Winchester School bagged the first prize; Asma Bint Al Nouman school won the second; and Al Hegra School bagged the third spot.
The prize money will be used for the development of the arts department of the winning schools.
Students who created the 10 most beautiful templates also received a collection of Global Village memorial gifts. All students participating in the initiative were presented with certificates of appreciation in addition to a ticket to the park.
Shazia Rehman, head of the department of art at GEMS Winchester School, said: “We participated with more than 600 students aged between three and nine years and we painted over 290 sculptures. It was a pleasure to see students coming up with such creative pieces of art.”
A special jury evaluated the sculptures and selected the three most beautiful works of art.
Talking about the winning entry, Karen Dsouza, a student at GEMS Winchester School, said: “The statue represents unity and the future of the UAE, where the three fingers of the victory sign have Expo 2020, Vision 2021 and Emirates Mars Mission 2050. We also coloured the base with more than 100 flags and people from different nationalities holding hands to show that in the UAE everybody lives in peace together.”
Ahmad AlMarri, director of operations at the Global Village, said: “We are very pleased with the response and involvement from schools and students from across the UAE. This community initiative brought out the artistic talent of students and we are impressed with their creativity.”