Oasis Centre Adds to Summertime Excitement with Edutainment Activities for Kids

Oasis Centre today announced it has lined up a series of edutainment activities including art workshops for children of all ages, as part of the Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) programme.

The activities that took off on 15 July will run through four weekends and include workshops on glitter art (‘Glitterati’), creating decorative frames (‘Framed’), ceramic painting (‘Ceramique’), use of sand in art (‘Sand-pit’), bead-jewellery designing (‘Bejewelled’) and etching custom-decorated mugs (‘Mug-shot’).

Oasis Centre is providing all the resources required for the workshops that are being conducted for free as part of the mall’s endeavour to promote creativity among the young and offer meaningful activities during their summer vacation.

Neelesh Bhatnagar, Director, Oasis Centre, said: “Summers in Dubai can be long and tedious, especially for families who are not travelling on vacation. As temperatures soar, it becomes difficult for parents to keep their children occupied. In hosting a series of edutainment activities, Oasis Centre has created an ambience while children can stretch their imagination and pursue a hobby in a fun environment with their peers. Such initiatives also falls in line with our overarching strategy to offer interesting round-the-year activities that families have come to expect out of the mall.”

Retailers such as Home Centre and Funcity have joined hands with Oasis Centre to design events that will complement the fun-factor at the mall.

The Home Centre outlet at Oasis Centre took the lead in organising a painting contest for children on 16 July. The contest required the young participants to paint pictures of their ‘dream homes’. Home Centre’s remaining outlets across the UAE will take turns in hosting the contest through the following three weekends.

Funcity, which hosted ‘Summer Fun’ programmes at its outlets across Dubai in association with Pfizer, conducted a training workshop on the performing arts for children. The children who participated in the workshop were given an opportunity to showcase their newly acquired talent on stage in a grand finale at the Oasis Centre on 16 July.

A mid-sized shopping mall, Oasis Centre houses a range of brands across categories, enticing customers with its key strengths such as convenience of shopping and excellent value-for-money. Located centrally on Sheikh Zayed Road, the mall opened its doors to shoppers after a revamp in March 2009.
 

Etisalat To Introduce Edutainment Services Across Middle East, Africa And Asia

Etisalat will shortly provide educational and entertainment (edutainment) services across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Sudan following the signing of a partnership agreement with Rubicon Group Holding. Rubicon Group Holding is a digital production company who will create new educational and interactive content for Etisalat’s customers.

As a result of the joint venture, Etisalat’s customers will be able to enjoy exclusive games, cartoons and applications that they can download via their mobile, on TV or through the Internet.

The brand new content created and managed by Rubicon Group Holding, will be designed to aid learning and educate younger customers in an entertaining format, a concept known as edutainment. The first services will be presented before the end of 2010. It will be initially produced in Arabic and English and, following the commercial launch in the UAE will be expanded to Etisalat’s sister companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Sudan. In order to reach a broad audience the content will also be translated into French, Urdu and Hindi.

The deal is the first-of-its-kind in the region and is part of Etisalat’s growing commitment to educational, entertaining and immersive media content. As a part of the agreement the two companies will create a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Abu Dhabi.

Training games and simulations are proven to help increase skills and improve knowledge retention in children. Parents are eager to expose their children to richer learning experiences and take every possible opportunity for improving their child’s educational development. This partnership will allow Etisalat’s customers to provide their children educational experiences while they play – using either mobile, TV or a PC.

Commenting on the partnership, Essa Al Haddad, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat said: “The idea that learning can be fun, and that fun activities can promote learning, has spawned a new world of services – edutainment. This will be the first time an operator provides such a comprehensive suite of edutainment services and content, and we are delighted that Etisalat’s customers across the Middle East, Asia and Africa will be the first to enjoy them.”

Outlining the nature of the deal, Randa Ayoubi, CEO of Rubicon Group Holding said: “We believe education should not be confined to the classroom and together with Etisalat, we will create content that makes learning interactive, convenient and most importantly – fun. Our edutainment service will adhere to international standards and enhance the curriculums of the respective countries by offering an engaging learning experience. In this respect, it is a unique initiative for the region and testament to Etisalat and its commitment to e-education.”
 

Spacetoon’s ’Save This Earth Show’ Brings Awareness On Environment To The Fore

Spacetoon’s ‘Save this Earth’ staged at Modhesh World Theatre has become a highly popular show with crowds swarming to see this amusing and educational show, with many of them enjoying the show for a second and third time.Modhesh World Theatre is acclaimed for its larger than life, fun, exciting edutainment shows. Spacetoon’s ‘Save the Earth’ touches every child’s imagination and supports the values that Modhesh stands for.An Arabic show, it is a story about two little children Noora and Amura who befriend the inhabitants of the forests and take on the huge task of saving the earth from the evil, Dammar, and his friends Tambol and Minfiq.‘Save the Earth’ tells the story of Noora and Amura’s adventure to defeat Dammar and his mischievous crew and ultimately save earth; Noora and Amura team up with the animals of the forest to overpower Dammar’s wicked plans. The show is exciting and thrilling with many twists and turns to keep children interested along with teaching them the importance of friendship, looking after the planet and working together to succeed.The story not only teaches children about conserving the forest but also is a tale of righteousness, loyalty, and forgiveness. The cute costumes and impressive action is supported by amazing audio-visual effects that carry the audience to a wonderful world of imagination, for children, this is surely another show not to be missed and they can relate easily to the main characters – Noora and Amura.Two shows are staged in the evenings on Thursday to Sunday. Entrance to the theatre is free for all Modhesh World visitors.Modhesh World doors open at 10.00am – 10:00pm on weekdays and from 10:00am – 12midnight on weekends, 3:00pm – 12midnight on Fridays. Tickets to the venue are priced at AED 10 for adults and AED 15 for kids with numerous free games and rides.