Back in the days of yore, many cultures we now refer to as ‘primitive’ had some fascinating practices related to coming of age or right-of-passage rituals. Mythologists and psychologists of today will argue the importance of such rituals in facilitating a healthy psychological transition, during a period which is often quite tumultuous, from childhood to adulthood. If you’re interested in this kind of thing there is a wealth of literature available to find out more about it (we particularly like Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces). If not, don’t turn the page over until we tell you where this is leading.
Turns out there is something of a mass coming of age ritual slated to take place in Abu Dhabi over the next few months. It’s called the Shababna wa Shebna Summer Camp, a four-day youth camp repeated over twelve weeks throughout June and July. In Arabic, Shababna wa Shebna means ‘our youth and our elderly’, and is therefore aimed at youth (16-21 year olds) and their parents.
The camp is organised by Altaaat on the national environmental treasure that is Sir Bani Yas Island, and hosted by the Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara. We spoke to Hala Alturki, senior leadership trainer and partner at Altaaat Leadership Development to see what they have in store for participants.
What is Altaaat and what kind of work do you do?
The Altaaat Leadership Development Institute emerged from Abu Dhabi and is currently serving clients across the Gulf region. Our service offerings include the formulating of leadership development strategies, the delivery of bespoke individual and group leadership development programmes, executive coaching and mentoring, organizational development consultancy and the publishing of local current and historical leadership case studies. Our client database includes governmental authorities and private corporations in the UAE and the wider region.
What’s the purpose of the camp?
Our aim is to engage the youth during summer months in productive and creative activities that further their development and enhance their leadership capabilities. Moreover we want to utilize the Abu Dhabi emirate’s facilities and resources during the low seasons – for greater affordability – in creative and innovative ways that are beneficial to the community and to society at large. We also aim to promote the emirate as a domestic tourism destination for family groups.
What kind of activities do you have planned for the youth and their parents?
There will be a combination of indoor and outdoor activities where leadership learning sessions are complemented by external adventure activities. Since the focus is on developing learners to become good team leaders, parents are given the opportunity to participate in these activities with their sons/daughters to help nurture a sense of competency and leadership in them. There will be challenging and fun activities which will run as weekly team competitions, encouraging laughter, thinking and discussion.
How will these instil and develop leadership capabilities in participating youth?
The camp reinforces youth leadership training via adventure activities. Altaaat believes in learning by ‘having fun’. Through the experiential method, all learning skills are obtained through completing field tasks, activities, puzzles and case studies as well as experience at being a team leader. The Team Leading Program will give learners basic knowledge of the various roles, responsibilities and functions of a team leader as well
as the limits of their accountability and authority.
What do you hope that course participants will take away with them?
We believe this experience provides a fantastic opportunity to reinforce parental bonds where we wanted to give parents the opportunity to spend valuable quality time with their children as they transition to a new stage in their lives. The parents themselves will gain valuable learning from the programme which is reinforced through the presence of other parents. All of which is delivered in a perfect setting of tranquillity and isolation from the crowds and a great atmosphere of support that will be remembered for a long time.
For more information visit www.shababnashebna.com. To book, email booking@shababnashebna.com (056 782 1515).
The details
The cost for individual registration is Dhs8,250 and Dhs16,500 per pair (father and son or mother and daughter). This covers: transportation to and from Sir Bani Yas Island; four nights stay at the Anantara Resort & Spa inclusive of all meals; entry into the structured leadership course and outdoor adventure activities; international Leadership & Management (ILM) qualification; and a gala dinner on the last evening to celebrate the winning team.
