‘School of Life’ returns with a focus on health and everyday well-being this November

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is launching a new edition of its School of Life initiative this November under the theme ‘Health and Sports.’ The programme features a series of workshops that encourage balanced lifestyles and inspire harmony between body, mind, and creativity, in line with Dubai’s Quality of Life Strategy.

Throughout November, the School of Life programme will host 26 sessions across Dubai Public Libraries, offering opportunities to explore mindfulness practices, learn breathing techniques, discover nutritious cooking, and develop vocal and linguistic skills. The events will also be organised by the diverse clubs that fall under the initiative, including Calligraphy, Languages, Family Development, Health & Nutrition, and the newly launched Music and Performing Arts Club. Together, they transform Dubai’s public libraries into vibrant community spaces.

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.