I am Bella Morrisseau Whiskeyjack, I live in Sherwood Park Alberta, and I am 10 years old. I would like to tell you about education before and after COVID-19 on reserves in Western Canada.

Kids and teachers knew about the Coronavirus, and at first the kids made jokes about it, but they stopped once it got serious. Then, kids stopped making jokes and actually started talking about how people around the world were getting very sick from the virus and actually died from it.

Online school was difficult for me because I couldn’t see or hear my classmate’s opinions, but I got used to it and throughout each day it became easier to do my schoolwork. My classmates and I got very bored doing online school; there really wasn’t anywhere to go.

On some reserves, schools were shut down entirely; there was no online school. This was due to two problems: limited access to Internet and computer availability in their community.  

• Internet: Reserves did not get Internet because they were in isolation.
• Computer Availability: reserves didn’t have electronics because the nearest town is 4 hours away, plus there was no Internet.

I believe that those children deserved the education that they were supposed to get before the Coronavirus hit. When schools reopen, those kids will have to restart that school year.

Online school wasn’t all bad. At least some kids got an education that will allow them to move on to the next year, but I think we all should have gotten that education. Let’s give a huge thanks to the schools that did give us a proper education, and for all the workers around the world who keep us all safe.

Voice of Bella Morrisseau Whiskeyjack

Bella Morrisseau Whiskeyjack was born in Edmonton, Alberta and is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. She lost her father at an early age, and is raised along with her brother by a loving Grandfather of the Grand Rapids Cree. Bella loves school and spending time with her family and friends. She has been recognized for her outstanding writing talents through school awards and wishes to be a writer in the future. She also is interested in veterinary sciences and construction.

Hi, I am Wezi and here is my rule book on fairness and justice for children, please enjoy!

One of my favourite answers when I am asked to do something is that “It’s not fair”! Sometimes I do not even understand what it means to be fair, but I just feel that children should always be allowed to do what they want! I have realised that as children we just think about the nice playful things we are doing at the moment and not necessarily about our future! It is important to have rules that promote fairness and justice for children, so I had a go at making some! 

1. Parents, adults and teachers should be open-minded by allowing discussions and listening to children’s views and not shout at them for no reason.

2. Children should be obedient and respectful to elders and their fellow children. 

3. Playing time is important but should be balanced with other activities. 

4. Children must think about and respect what is best for everyone instead of just thinking about themselves all the time. This will help future generations to appreciate nature.

5. Children should take care of their environment because, as the age-old adage goes, ‘charity begins at home’! This means that children should look after vegetation like fruit trees, flowers and all growing plants in order to avoid effects of climate change.

6. Children should be protected from gender-based violence at home and everywhere. 

7. Parents should teach children how to uphold good family values and principles so that children can live in a society where they are well-cultured. 

Wezi Emmanuel Chilubanama is 10 years old and is in sixth grade. Wezi is passionate about the environment and nature. He loves gardening and keeping clean and tidy surroundings. As the UN Child Ambassador for the SDGs (Africa), Wezi is focusing on ways to eradicate poverty and embrace equality between girls and boys. 

Every weekend, Hamad indulges in cultural activities with his father, particularly during winter. A peak season for heritage activities in the UAE. Hamad’s passion is to sit in the front car seat, gazing out of the window while his father drives to Al Ruwwayyah in Dubai. It is a journey best taken at dawn. For, competitions take an early start!  Golden rays, reflected on the fine particles of sand, the crisp winds and mesmerizing morning breeze trigger sweet memories in Hamad’s mind. Now, he is 12 years of age. He has been accompanying his father to the falcon races for as long as he can remember.  The clear sky, the sand dunes and the sweet flow of memories come to a sudden end when the bumpy dirt road begins! It is time for Hamad to hold on tight onto his one and only beloved falcon!

A long ride before the white tent dedicated to falconry appears. Only then, Hamad’s heart begins to throb hard. Having trained the falcon for the race for days, Hamad longs to win the title of the Juniors’ category in the Fazza Championship for Falconry.

Murmuring in his falcon’s ear “please don’t let me down”, Hamad removes the “burga’a” (the head cover) and releases his falcon for the 400-meter race.

The joy of getting his falcon again at the end of the race is more rewarding than winning the competition, Hamad thought.

The next destination for Hamad and his father is the “Izba” (the camel farm). Hamad’s father has many camels. Some are dedicated for the traditional camel races and few for milking. Camel milk is extremely nutritious. This he has learned from his grandfather!

Now a ‘superhero’ after drinking the fresh camel milk, Hamad hops onto his camel for a very long ride. He feels proud to clinch onto his culture and heritage, on the footsteps of his forefathers. Culture and heritage are key to the person’s national identity.

For this purpose, The Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre was established with the mission of reviving UAE’s cultural heritage in different ways. This includes the preservation of falcons, camels, Saluki dogs, shooting with the traditional rifle (Saktoun), freediving, desert camps, Youlah, celebrations, national attire and traditional cuisines, and much more.

I’ve got two teenage kids, and a husband on the ‘highly vulnerable’ list. We’ve all been locked in the house together for almost two months. These are a few things we’ve learned as a result:

·  My extrovert daughter, who we all thought would be climbing the walls by now, has realised her crazy social life was driven mainly by Fear Of Missing Out. Now there’s nothing to miss, she’s loving staying at home. 

·  My son and I have learned, to our delight, that lazing on the sofa watching telly is now considered ‘saving lives’ rather than ‘being bone idle’.

·  We’ve discovered my husband is obsessed with anti-bacterial spray. Unfortunately, we’ve also discovered I’m allergic to it. So, my early Coronavirus-like breathing problems were the ironic result of my husband’s attempts to protect me from Coronavirus.

·  Although we began lockdown in different clothes – my husband in work gear, my daughter in funky dresses, and me in jeans and mumsy tops – after a few months stuck at home not seeing anyone, we’ve all discovered the joys of my son’s ‘gamer uniform’ of baggy joggy bottoms and unwashed t-shirts.

·  We’ve learnt we’re rubbish at online grocery shopping. On the positive side, we’re now the proud owners of a thousand and ten tea bags, eight bunches of bananas and a tomato ketchup bottle so small you can hide it behind an egg cup.

·  The shortage of snacks in the house has turned us into sneaky hoarders. So far, I’ve found Kit Kats hidden in laundry baskets, packets of prawn cocktail crisps stashed behind the printer and a Mars ice cream bar secreted in a Birdseye fishfingers box.

·  Luckily for us, after two months locked down together, and with more on the horizon, our favourite discovery has been how much we all like spending time with each other

Voice of Rachel Hamilton

Rachel Hamilton is an award-winning children’s author from the UK. Her books include The Case of the Exploding Loo and The Case of the Exploding Brains (Simon & Schuster), the Unicorn in New York series (OUP & Scholastic US) and The Falcon Who Found His Wings (Motivate). She is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge, and has put her education to good use by working in an advertising agency, a senior school, a building site and a men’s prison. Rachel loves to make people laugh, especially when it's intentional rather than accidental.

When I think about inclusion, I look around me, in the workplace, at schools, in the retail environment, and I think how lucky we are in the UAE to have more than 200 nationalities calling this country home.

We share  our foods, our cultures, our customs wherever we go.

At a recent team lunch at the Emirates Literature Foundation’s offices, I tasted delicious food from around the world for the first time, which included vegan, vegetarian, helal foods so everyone could join in and enjoy our ‘pot-luck’ meal.

Inclusion means speaking to whoever you may meet, finding out where they are from and  what bought them to the Emirates.

Sometimes we might think it is easier to stay within our ‘bubble’, not make the effort. Please pop that ‘bubble’ step out into the world around us and celebrate being an inclusive person.

Learn some Arabic so that you can converse with Emiratis and people from the Arab World, learn some Hindu greetings so you can  wish friends from India who celebrate Diwali.

A smile is one of the best ways to break the ice, regardless of language or nationality.

 Let no one remain invisible; everyone deserves to be included in 2020  and beyond.

Three key characteristics of an inclusive society

·  Acceptance

·  Celebrating diversity and difference

·  Recognising that all  humanity  shares the same  internal feelings

by Isobel Abulhoul, CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Festival Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature