Exposing children to multi-culturalism has many benefits in Abu Dhabi.
One of the joys of living and being educated in the UAE is that fact it is home to over 200 different nationalities.
The UAE has always embraced this diversity, and this includes acknowledging and celebrating the many different festivals associated with each culture.
For school children in the UAE, their year is punctuated with the celebrations and festive decorations that mark a variety of occasions.
Each occasion gives children the opportunity to learn more about each other’s cultures and for schools to promote and celebrate the wonderful diversity inherent in international education.
For children growing up away from their family home countries, they can learn about their heritage and celebrate their cultural identity while sharing and learning from children from different backgrounds.
In the last few weeks alone, the children have celebrated Diwali, the UAE’s Flag Day and the 50th National Day.
And now schools are glittering with tinsel and snowflakes and children are singing wintery songs as they prepare for the arrival of Father Christmas.
Being raised and educated in such a multicultural environment brings many benefits. Celebrating diversity in culture, knowledge, language, ethnicity, and religion teaches children to be more open, accepting and gives them a deeper understanding of the world around them.
Promoting values of respect for difference and acceptance of others and encouraging the idea of searching for common interests and cooperation with everyone despite their background, can only be a positive thing for young people and teaches them important values they will take into later life.
Children in the UAE are more likely to be exposed to different languages too. Many children here are raised in bi-lingual or tri-lingual households, while others will learn new languages at school and be exposed to them in their social lives, all of which has great benefits for learning and cognitive development.
In an international school, children learn to look at issues from a variety of perspectives, which develops not only a sense of understanding but also inspires innovation and creativity.
Young people who are taught to do this from a young age are learning valuable skills that they will take into their lives and careers.
A LinkedIn survey found that 79 per cent of recruiters are looking to hire more diverse teams to enhance performance and develop a culture where everybody feels they belong and can thrive.
This means these young global citizens will be well placed for future career opportunities and can take these important values with them and share these ideals with their friends and colleagues in the future.
Schools in the UAE can be proud of educating truly global citizens who are more likely to think of the rights and responsibilities of all, which means they can better contribute to the international community and the world as a whole.
I am sure we can all agree that there are many benefits to raising children in the UAE – but the exposure to multi-culturalism has to be right up there at the top!
Fiona McKenzie is Head of Education at Carfax Education and works with her team of education specialists to help families find the best educational opportunities for each child.
