- Dubai
8 February: The UAE Ministry of Education has introduced a new physical
activity programme for primary schools across the Emirates. Launched in
Dubai today, over 30 schools took part in an in-depth training seminar
featuring presentations by the Ministry and Dr Abdulrahman Musaiger, co-ordinator
of the Arab Centre for Nutrition (ACN).
- Called
Al Haraka Baraka, which when translated into English means ‘movement
is a blessing’, the web-based Arabic and English language teaching
resource was developed especially for the Gulf area by Master Foods
Middle East, part of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of
grocery products.
- Al
Haraka Baraka is the product of two years research and development
undertaken into identifying appropriate issues, activities and language.
The company worked in close co-operation with the UAE Ministry of
Education, the ACN and other specialist groups to produce an easy to use
programme that addressed locally the need to promote healthier
lifestyles.
- According
to Ms Christine Greaves, Master Foods' External Affairs Manager, Al
Haraka Baraka, is designed for easy implementation within schools and
classrooms. She said that “this is not a sports programme, but
something that simply sets out to heighten awareness of the need to do
more physical activity. Al Haraka Baraka requires no investment in
expensive apparatus, beyond a skipping rope and a stop watch, and
focuses on the sort of activities that the vast majority of us can
perform simply by modifying our lifestyles.”
- According
to international statistics, children are undertaking much less activity
today than 30 years ago. Al Haraka Baraka provides teachers with a
framework to build knowledge about physical activity by explaining the
types of activity we should do with practical examples. “The aim is to
encourage habitual physical activity for children from an early age”
said Ms Greaves.
- Commenting
on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Ibrahim Salem Alsakkar,
Director of Dept. of Sport & Health Programs stated that
"the change in modern lifestyles and the dependence on tools and
equipment to help performing tasks easily without any physical effort
has resulted in the spread of diseases caused by the lack of physical
activity in society like obesity, diabetes, and heart problems.
Therefore, it has become necessary to cooperate between different
community institutions to reduce the spread of such diseases.
- “In
turn, the Ministry of Education in UAE has paid a lot of attention to
this issue, and their leadership has decided to establish a special unit
that takes care of health and fitness programmes aiming to raise
awareness of students and parents of health issues through programs and
plans applied on the ground. The start for this was the new highly
developed curriculum for sports and health that will increase healthy
habits between students and encourage them to practice active lifestyles
through involvement in various physical activities at school and
everywhere else."
- He
continued to explain that the initiative came with the help of Master
Foods through its cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
“It aims to help physical education teachers achieve their goals for
the new curriculum for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades for primary
schools. This will be achieved through easy and simple methods using the
website dedicated for the programme. Al Haraka Baraka has been developed
by a number of Arab experts known for their scientific methodology in
the field of health and sports. As a result, the components and
mechanics of the programme are most suitable for the habits of Arab
communities.”
- Al
Haraka Baraka consists of four lesson plans along with background
information for teachers. There's also a special guide for parents to
ensure mums and dads understand the programme and set positive examples
at home. There are work sheets, activity diaries, games, a summary of 10
healthy tips for fitness and an Al Haraka Baraka poem.
- The
programme introduces children to the three main types of activity we
need to improve and maintain health. These include Aerobic exercises,
such as running and swimming, Flexibility exercises such as stretching
and gymnastics, and Strength building exercises, such as lifting
weights. All have been interpreted to find every day examples such as
climbing the stairs rather than using a lift.
- The
UAE Ministry of Education plan to target over 30 primary schools across
10 educational zones for the remainder of the academic year, however, as
the programme is freely available on the web (at www.alharakabaraka.com),
any school can choose to run the programme.
- Its
also designed to be inter-active with schools developing their own
interpretation of the programme. The final lesson suggests that children
provide a demonstration to their peer group on what they have learned to
encourage group activities such as sponsored walks and activity days.
Master Foods aim to grow the website with feedback and images from
participating schools, there's also a competition for schools with
prizes offered for the school that makes best use of the programme.
-
- Ends
- For more information contact:
-
- Maida Talhami
- Momentum
- PO Box 24554, Dubai, UAE
- Tel: +971 4 390 1630
- Fax + 971 4 390 4516
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