The decisive stages the competitions of the “Superhero Campaign”, organized by Friends of Diabetes Association, one of the health-promoting organizations under the Health Promotion Department of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in Sharjah, showed the remarkable increase in the skilled students who take part in the various categories of the contest, something that sparked this year’s competition and consolidated the position of the campaign as a perfect platform for attracting talented and creative students.

Organized in 20 public and private schools in Sharjah and Central region in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Sharjah Education Council and with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Superhero campaign comprises various categories, including the best awareness video about diabetes, the best theatrical text about diabetes and health, and the superhero character design contest. Each school will nominate students to participate in the three competitions and send their work via the internet. The selected works will then be submitted to the jury established to announce the winners through the association’s smart platforms.

The Association underlined that all the contest events have been organized remotely in safe and innovative ways, while ensuring the full commitment to the precautionary and preventive measures adopted by the UAE to contain COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that it has communicated with the participating schools to explain the mechanism of the contests and to finalize the video profiles of the competitors and the design contest in a short time.

“The works and achievements of the participating schools in the first and second episodes have been arranged, while the number of competitors in all contests has reached 200,” added the Association.

Outstanding results

Her Excellency Khawla Al-Haj, Head of the Friends of Diabetes Association, said: “The Superhero Campaign has achieved remarkable results, especially with the increase in the number of the participating schools alongside a better understanding of students about diabetes prevention and their qualitative innovations. This year, the campaign has managed successfully to turn the challenges into opportunities, thanks to Sharjah’s digital infrastructure which has been remarkably upgraded over the past years, as a forward-looking vision to help empower future governments.”

Al-Haj explained that the Superhero campaign comes as part of the relentless efforts of the Association to build a diverse human base of school students in diabetes awareness and to foster a supportive environment of educational centers, praising the great response of schools to the campaign through the provision of all the potential for its success, in cooperation with the partners from the Ministry of Education and Sharjah Education Council and with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Awareness ambassadors

The Head of Diabetes Association underscored that the Superhero campaign is one of the most competent future enablers as it focuses on school students to elevate their awareness about diabetes and to adopt healthy lifestyles along with physical activity, as well as to pave the way for a safer and supportive environment for children with diabetes to help them effectively manage their disease and to clarify information about the rights of the student with diabetes according to a scientific reference, in addition to highlighting the responsibility of the family and society for the interaction of students with health awareness programs, and encouraging them to be awareness ambassadors among their peers, with the active support of nurses in schools to creating a stimulating environment for adopting positive and healthy behaviors.

The Superhero Campaign aims to raise awareness of students about the methods of diabetes prevention and encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles and physical activity, as well as to highlight the rights of children with diabetes to live their normal life like their nondiabetic peers.