Ramadan 2020: tradition and technology combine to put virtual iftars on the menu

As safety measures adopted to combat the spread of Covid-19 continue to keep people apart, a mix of tradition and technology ensures the bonds of friendship and family remain unbroken during Ramadan.

Instead of people gathering around dining tables to break their fast, this year many have settled down in front of laptops or reached for smartphones to enjoy virtual iftars with their loved ones.

A Dubai school took the idea a step further and had its grade 12 pupils cook with their friends with the help of video calls.

Nadine Abdelhalim, 17, of Dubai American Academy, made chocolate truffles, as well as pasta with white sauce, as eight of her friends chatted with her on Zoom.

The group, who usually have a senior breakfast together, are unable to meet in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But their school organised a virtual senior iftar to allow classmates to cook together online, with pupils rewarded for the creativity and presentation of their dishes.

“I really enjoyed the experience and though it was virtual it gave a sense of community," Nadine said.

“I made good memories with my friends as we cooked together and then compared our meals.

“By the time we were done cooking there was a sense of normalcy."

The group cooked up tasty treats such as kunafa balls, banana bread, brownies, rice bowls and miso salmon.

“This experience was different for me as I am used to big gatherings in Ramadan,' said Nadine.

“Technology played a massive role because otherwise we would feel a lot more isolated.”

Another pupil, Sofia Ladak, said it was the first time she attended an iftar party, albeit a virtual one.

“My friend and I had dinner together virtually. I made steak tacos and my friend made a carrot cake,” she said.

“I love cooking. Making this meal and enjoying it together was fun.

“I think technology made it possible for us to come together and find a new way of continuing our traditions and making memories.”

Rory Courlander, grade 12 senior adviser at the school, said the class valedictorian was named on Google Meet last week, with about 120 pupils joining the video call for the announcement.

Grade 12 pupils at Dubai American Academy came together for an Iftar on video call. Courtesy of Dubai American Academy

“Education is about contact with people but technology is substituting as best as possible,” Mr Courlander said.

“Everything is different this year so we had to be very creative and organise the senior iftar.

“Friends cooked together and shared this experiences to create a community culture.

“This is a good example of how you can engage pupils and experience something nice.”

Al Manar Centre, a non-profit organisation in Dubai that focuses on Islamic education, plans to hold a virtual iftar for community members, dignitaries and religious leaders in the next two weeks.

“Iftar is a beautiful opportunity to bring people together to build bridges and we did not want to miss out on it this year. We will use technology to host a virtual Iftar,” Ahmed Hamed, a spokesman for the centre, said.

The group plans to send meals to members of the community and people will join a video call and eat together.

Dubai Municipality has also launched an online initiative called Virtual Ramadan Tent to allow employees to come together in the absence of traditional gatherings.

The weekly meetings will feature discussions about various social and cultural issues, such as the effect of physical distancing measures and how each person can protect their families and society during the pandemic.

Employees will also discuss how to motivate people to do good deeds during the holy month and contribute to food drives in the UAE.

SERIES INFO

Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series

All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Test series

1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March

Play starts at 9.30am

T20 series

1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March

TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube

'Gehraiyaan'

Director:Shakun Batra

Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa

Rating: 4/5

Volunteers offer workers a lifeline

Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.

When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.

Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.

Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.

“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.

Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.

“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.

In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press

Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?

George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
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Hunting park to luxury living

Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds

Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.

Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

match details

Wales v Hungary

Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm

The%20specs

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Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up

Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm

On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm

The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm

The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm

Romang, June 28 at 6pm

Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm

Underdog, June 29 at 2pm

Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm

A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm

What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

RESULT

Arsenal 2

Sokratis Papastathopoulos 45 4'

Eddie Ntkeiah 51'

Portsmouth 0

How to apply for a drone permit

Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
Submit their request

What are the regulations?

Fly it within visual line of sight
Never over populated areas
Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
Should have a live feed of the drone flight
Drones must weigh 5 kg or less

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The specs

Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Kerb weight: 1580kg

Price: From Dh750k

On sale: via special order

What is a Ponzi scheme?

A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.

While you're here

Sheikh Shakhbout Al Nahyan: Africa must be protected against an economic 'long Covid'

Sholto Byrnes: Quad pact on vaccines could inject needless geopolitical tensions

Damien McElroy: Echoes from the Napoleonic Wars can be heard in EU's vaccine export row

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RESULTS

Argentina 4 Haiti 0

Peru 2 Scotland 0

Panama 0 Northern Ireland 0

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi