The first Early Childhood Development Fair kicks off Thursday in Abu Dhabi

The event is the largest in the country that brings together out-of-school activities for early childhood development by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority

Abu Dhabi, UAE, 21 Novem ber, 2023

The Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Development Fair, organized by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA) in collaboration with strategic partners, kicks off on 23 November and will run until 25 November at the Umm Al Emarat Park from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The Fair will run for three days and presents an excellent opportunity for children, their families, parents and caregivers to explore innovative interactive events, out-of-school activities, scientific and technical workshops, as well as fun experiences aimed at promoting the development of children and encouraging interactive play and family participation. Most importantly, the Fair aims to foster learning through play, and effectively supports children’s physical and mental development.

This Fair’s objective is to provide parents and caregivers with the necessary tools, skills and resources to develop children’s abilities from birth to the age of 8 through various workshops, sessions and other activities in an innovative and interactive educational environment. At the same time, the event aims to promote Abu Dhabi as one of the best cities to attract investments in the field of early childhood development and out-of-school services and activities. The Fair will promote the importance of services and activities that help enhance early childhood development.

His Excellency Eng. Thamer Rashid Al Qasimi, Executive Director of the Special Projects and Partnerships Sector at ECA, said: “We are organizing this event as part of our efforts to strengthen the capacities of our partners to support the overall optimum development of children, readjust society’s approach to out-of-school activities and how we can meet young children’s needs by enabling their caregivers with the necessary tools and important knowledge on development. The Fair also seeks to familiarize parents and their caregivers with opportunities and diverse services offered by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in this area.”

Al Qasimi noted that ECA adopts a holistic approach to early childhood development and supports multisectoral coordination to strengthen the delivery of services from various government and non-government providers to ensure that all children receive the basic necessities for good physical, emotional, and mental health, as well as nurture their early cognitive abilities.

Al Qasimi added, “We look forward to welcoming families, children, caregivers and all those involved in early childhood development to this event. We hope for them to participate in many fun, educational and interactive activities that we have provided with the support of our strategic partners and various service providers. We also made sure to provide innovative events and activities for children of determination, in a creative outdoor environment that contributes to the promotion of children’s physical, mental and psychological health.

The Early Childhood Development Fair is the result of the ECA’s collaboration with more than 12 strategic partners and 42 service providers, with multiple activities including 4 special performances for children of determination, 43 different workshops such as Arabic calligraphy and drawing workshops, community participation, sensory activities workshops, music workshops, science museum and other educational workshops and activities.

The 3-day fair includes 10 interactive sessions discussing various topics presented by a group of specialists in various relevant fields. The topics of these sessions relate to health and nutrition, child safety, early childcare and education, family support and many other topics of interest to parents, caregivers and children.

In terms of interactive performances, visitors will get to attend 21 special theatre performances, as well as areas dedicated to family entertainment, and other cultural areas featuring various libraries, as well as children’s play gyms.

This Fair is organized by Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority and it is a free community event that welcomes all families, childcare professionals and caregivers over the course of 3 days from the 23 – 25 of November from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For more information about the Early Childhood Development Fair, please visit the Fair’s website to register (https://www.ecdfair.ae/index_ar.php) and follow ECA’s official accounts on social media platforms.