Bayut’s Student Essay Writing Competition: Winners!
It may be a hackneyed saying, but children are our future. They're the people who, in several cases, are already changing the world we live in today - and they're the ones who will change the world of tomorrow. At Bayut, we not only work hard on maintaining our reputation of being the best data-driven property portal but also like to help people from all over the world understand what life is like in the UAE with our fabulous blog 'MyBayut'.
Our content and marketing team also carry out different competitions and contests for its subscribers from time to time, along with inviting guest bloggers to be a part of the Bayut blog with not just adults participating but kids who have an interest towards writing, as well. This December, we took to the schools of Abu Dhabi for a student essay competition.
After our first student essay writing competition with children from Jumeirah College, Dubai, we headed south to the capital to find out what students there have to say. And given the response and fantastic pieces from the Grade 6 and Grade 7 students from Raha International and American International School Abu Dhabi...they sure have a lot to say!
Students were given a choice of two topics for their essays, "Abu Dhabi in the Year 3000" and "My Dream House". We received a lot of entries from students of both schools but most of those were for "Abu Dhabi in the Year 3000', which was nice to see and showed that all kids who participated have brilliant minds and they're not shy to use their imagination in whichever direction it leads them. All student essays were fun to read but there was an element that was similar to almost all of them, they wanted to see a future where there were lesser gadgets and more family time, something very surprising coming from kids!
While we loved (and were definitely excited by their ideas) we could only choose one winner - Nikolaos from Raha International. But here's a special shoutout to Jaime Ordovas and Sarah Almansouri from the same school, who placed second and third respectively.
FIRST PLACE: Abu Dhabi in the year 3000
By Nikolaos Karanikolos
Can you imagine yourself aboard a spaceship for your summer holidays? Or playing handball in Mars? Well, this will be the reality for Abu Dhabi residents in 3000 if the project for building a town on Mars is successful. The UAE is planning to make a town in Mars by 2117, as they announced last February. If this happens, then Abu Dhabi will be completely different from now. For example, there will be spaceports and not just airports and people will be travelling back and forth from Mars easily. Since UAE will be the first country to build such a town, Abu Dhabi as the capital will be renowned globally. This will attract tourists and will lead to economic development. As oil reserves will have been depleted, the town in space will be a solution to the economic demands.
Moreover, Abu Dhabi will be highly developed technologically and there will be flying cars that will be using solar energy, thus there will be no need for fossil fuels. In general, buildings will be built with respect to the environment using renewable energy sources for lights and air-conditions. As local people will have realized the importance of tradition, the houses will have a unique style that is both traditional and modern. People will still be wearing their traditional clothes and family will be their first priority. Since nowadays technology is being overused and abused and people become more and more obsessed with it, by 3000 they will have learned from the mistakes of the present and they will make different choices. For example, mobile phones which will resemble a wristwatch will be de-activated at homes so that there will be more interaction among family members.
As far as the environment is concerned, the use of renewable energy sources will definitely reduce pollution and conserve energy. Abu Dhabi will have plenty of forests and green due to the cloud seeding and the landscape will be totally transformed. Disposable cups will be banned in the city and litter will be greatly reduced. Endangered species will be sheltered in animal parks that will resemble natural habitats. Overall, Abu Dhabi will have a leading role in environmental efforts around the world. Furthermore, it will also participate actively in efforts to help people in need such as refugees and disaster survivors. Actually, the city on Mars can provide a much-needed shelter for them and maybe a refuge for the rest of the world in case things on earth go terribly wrong. Given all this, living in Abu Dhabi in 3000 will certainly be rewarding and worthwhile.
The winning prize
Nikolaos won two tickets to Yas Waterworld for himself and a friend, for his creative essay. All the other participants received goodie bags from Bayut with a couple of special goodie bags for the runners-up.
We loved all articles and would like to encourage all the kids out there to keep writing and get in touch with us at mybayut@bayut.com if you have something you'd like to share on MyBayut!
