Al Ain Book Festival highlights beauty of local, Arabic creative heritage

AL AIN - Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre concluded the events of its 14th edition of Al Ain Book Festival Saturday by organizing the cultural programme "Reminiscing the Beginnings" by the Cultural Ambassadorship for the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization at the Bait Mohamed Bin Khalifa. 

The program began with a speech delivered by Ali bin Tamim, President of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, stating: “At the beginning, allow me to give acclaim to Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan, Ambassador for Culture for ALECSO, Ambassador of our culture and identity to the world. We dearly value her efforts, her vision and her pivotal role, whose positive impact we see. Thank you for every idea you thought of to reach the sky, every effort and support you gave and still do in order for other people and civilizations to learn about our culture and authentic heritage.”

“At the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, we appreciate all the efforts of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization shedding light on and widely publicizing the most important issues of the Arab heritage, so that culture and heritage remain common factors and a beautiful language we Arabs are discussing with different people and cultures around the world,” said bin Tamim.

“In the art exhibition included in the program, we have seen the extent of the development embodied by the participating artists within their work and projects, the depth of the vision they carried out and highlighted in their achievement. This reflects their creativity which they were able to transmit to the public through aesthetic images,” he added.

Rami Eskandar, Director of the Department of Education, Acting Director of the Department of Culture at ALECSO, spoke on behalf of Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, stating: “Two years ago, the United Arab Emirates was honored with the first title of Ambassador for Arab Culture, appointed to Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan, to hold this title for the first time in an official capacity of "Ambassador for Arab Culture", an honour and commitment that affirms the leading role of the United Arab Emirates, highlighting the efforts of its wise leadership in promoting joint Arab cultural action and serving the issues of peace and sustainable development nationally, regionally and internationally. As the Ambassador for Culture, she fulfilled her obligations to the Organization and its partners, and led the project's activities at various national, regional and international levels.”

“The organization, in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth, appointed Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan as its first ambassador for Arab culture, as a result of her outstanding achievements in various fields of culture and creativity. This choice confirms the organization's desire to develop, diversify and collaborate with the United Arab Emirates, which continues to sponsor and support a large number of the organization's programmes and projects,” he said.

Eskandar stressed that the Ambassador for Culture has launched a large number of projects and initiatives to support the Organization's efforts in achieving its objectives, implementing its plans to value and promote Arab culture and employing it to achieve development in Arab countries. The Ambassador's initiatives contributed to creating a positive image of Arab culture at the international level and strengthened the links between Arab culture and other cultures. The cultural activities held at the national level have had a significant impact, contributing to the visibility of the Organization and its activities within the State, and decision makers.

Harmony of Arts and Language

The “Reminiscing the Beginnings” programme began with the opening of an art exhibition by a group of Arab artists, including Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Al Nahyan, Ambassador for Culture for  the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, the  Lebanese artist and calligrapher Omar Safa, Lebanese artist Aya Charife the Tunisian artist Hela Amous, Emirati artist Fatima Al-Daheri and Syrian artist Eyad Jouda, whose artistic work is part of enhancing the Palestinian-Arab role in shaping the common cultural reminiscence.

The participating artists presented a collection of outstanding works inspired by the beauty of the Arabic language, the maritime culture of the UAE, and the arts that flourished during the Islamic culture in Andalusia, through a set of art works that reflect the realities and contradictions of daily life.

Artwork

Sheikha Alyazia presented two works entitled "The Magic of Syllables" series to illustrate in her unique artistic style the wonder and magic of the language of Dhad that never fails to fascinate us with its beauty, elegance, and richness.

The magic lamp was chosen as a suggestion that the presence of the Arabic language in our lives is the fulfillment of wishes. The letter and the smoke rising from the lamp embody the pride in the heritage of our Arab nation that permeates our being and our world.

The artist Salma Al-Banna presented an artwork entitled "Dream of Peace", painted in a creative manner on the magic lamp a set of improvised decorations that blend several cultures, with some words in Arabic such as "Dream" and "Peace", and blue and gold came to symbolize the ancient Andalusian culture, which is still seen today.

The artist Omar Safa presented a work of art telling the story of the path made by Arabic, and the art of calligraphy. Arabic letters in the form of smoke rising from the magical lamp reflected the hair of the prophet Abu Tayyeb " to make it clear that poetry and wisdom were transmitted only through memorizing and word of mouth, and that Arabic was and remains an unparalleled language of magic.

Inspired by the  Emirati heritage, the artist Aya Charife presented a work of art, her work tells the story of a found magical worn out lamp from ages ago, woven with silver outlines and colored with the shades of the deep blue sea for granted wishes upon sea voyages.

The programme continued with a video screening of the poem "Towbad Mountain" from the words of the Prince of Poets Ahmed Shawki, and the tunes of the musician Mohamed Abdel Wahab, with a new composed mix by the Emirati artist Ihab Darvish, performed by the artists Tariq al-Manhali and Ali Rashid, under the artistic and administrative supervision of the Emirati Musician Association.

Musician Ihab Darwish said in his speech: "The poem of Mount Toubat was chosen to be in line with the theme of the event" Reminiscing the Beginnings", and we maintained its symphony character mixed with eastern Arab instruments.

He added: "One of the most important features of the poem after the redistribution of its tunes is to have it in a rhythmic Emirati style, thus integrating different music cultures.

The artists Tariq al-Manhali and Ali Rashid were chosen because of their voices. This cultural project of redistributing one of the classics of Arab music with a Gulf character is a vital bet on the promotion and exchange of cultural relations among peoples.

At the end of the programme, a number of prominent cultural and artistic personalities were honored for their contributions and outstanding role in enriching the cultural and artistic movement in the Arab world like: Isobel Bilhol Founder, Consultant and Board Member of the Emirates Foundation for Literature, Hamad Safi Al-Mustaghani General Secretary of the Arabic Language Complex in Sharjah, poet and media icon Brewin Habib, and artist Fayez Qazak, famous actor, author and director.

Brewin performed in the closing statements after the awards, a poem titled “to the lord we look for reconciliation”.

Mohammed Ould Omar, Director General of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, was also honored and given the shield of excellence in cultural sustainability for his cultural, scientific and educational efforts and achievements, and Ali bin Tamim, President of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center for his groundbreaking achievements locally, regionally and internationally.

The Cultural Ambassadorship extended tribute to Nasser Mohamed Aref, Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University, and to Huda Kanoo, the founder of the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group and the artistic director of ADMAF for outstanding achievements and active role in enriching cultural interchange.

It is worth noting that Al Ain book fair diligently applied the vision of Abu Dhabi Language center to secure the presence of the Arabic Language through books in the imagination of the readers, conserving a close relationship between the language and the reader, throughout the days of the fair audiences were given an artistic unique mix of a variety of shows, programs attended by prominent speakers and guests from the UAE and from abroad. 

Press Release