Dubai Culture encourages balanced living through a programme of 26 workshops aimed at nurturing healthier daily habits.
Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is reintroducing its School of Life initiative this November, themed around ‘Health and Sports.’ This edition offers a curated selection of workshops designed to support well-being and promote a harmonious connection between physical health, emotional wellbeing, and personal creativity, reflecting Dubai’s broader Quality of Life Strategy.
Across the month, the School of Life programme will deliver 26 sessions at Dubai Public Libraries, providing community members with opportunities to explore mindfulness techniques, practise focused breathing, learn about wholesome cooking, and enhance vocal and language skills. The workshops will be presented by the various clubs within the initiative, including Calligraphy, Languages, Family Development, Health & Nutrition, as well as the recently introduced Music and Performing Arts Club. Collectively, these activities help transform library spaces into lively cultural and social hubs that bring people together.
Highlights across the libraries
At Al Safa Art & Design Library, Dr. Leila Souda and Katral Nada Hassan will lead ‘Women’s Wellness Journey’, focusing on hormonal balance and self-care. The library will also host a series of creative English-language workshops designed for children and adults.
Under Medaf Creative Studio, young participants can enjoy hands-on experiences such as ‘3D Sports Diorama’, where they create miniature sports worlds; ‘Design Your Ping-Pong Racket’, which invites them to hand-paint and personalise their own rackets; and ‘Vegetable Garden Diorama’, a clay-modelling session that promotes healthy eating through art.
Meanwhile, ‘Mind Matters’, presented by Readers’ Majlis, offers an enriching discussion for adults on mental health and resilience as reflected in literature, exploring how stories and memoirs capture the human capacity to adapt and grow. ‘Mind and Body Balance,’ led by Dr. Farah Khorshid, Dr. Fiona Brenninkmeijer, and Katral Nada Hassan, combines breathing exercises and creative expression to relieve stress, including a hands-on activity making beeswax candles.
In collaboration with L’Atelier des Fêtes, Al Mankhool Library will host ‘Create Your Own Natural Scrub’, where visitors learn to make a natural foot scrub using simple, effective ingredients. The library will also present two new calligraphy sessions by Gino Banola: ‘Baybayin on Tumbler’ and ‘Baybayin on Jute Bags’. These interactive workshops introduce the traditional Filipino script through creative lettering on tumblers and jute bags, encouraging attendees to express meaningful words and phrases in an elegant, artistic way.
As part of the wider School of Life clubs, Nada Saeed Kattan will conduct ‘Cozy Winter Soups’ at Hatta Library and ‘Energy Bites’ at Al Safa Library, teaching participants to prepare nutritious snacks with natural ingredients. Meanwhile, Art Club activities include ‘Draw your Healthy Plate’ led by Abeer Al Edani at Al Safa Library, blending art and nutrition in a fun, creative format.
At Al Twar Library, two Literature Club sessions — ‘Arabic in Nature: Building Inner Strength Arabically’ and ‘Arabic in Nature: Ant-like Teamwork Arabically’ — presented by Arabically experts, will explore teamwork skills and the mind-body connection through language.
Also at Al Safa, the Music and Performing Arts Club will present ‘Choral in Arabic: National Day’, focusing on vocal warm-ups, articulation, and pitch control, culminating in a group performance and artistic evaluation. The ‘Creative Impact Track: Ruq’ah Calligraphy – Final Level 301,’ led by calligrapher Mohammad Altamimi, will offer a nine-part series guiding participants through letter connection and full sentence formation in the Ruq’ah script.