Dubai: “The Gulf”
Today, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announced the list of guests participating in its sixteenth session, which is scheduled to be held between January 31 and February 6, 2024 at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City Hotel.
The list of speakers includes a group of the most prominent names in the fields of literature, culture, and arts, most notably the Libyan novelist Ibrahim Al-Koni, the two Emirati astronauts, Hazza Al-Mansouri and Sultan Al-Neyadi, the writer who won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2023, Zahran Al-Qasimi, the poet Amal Al-Sahlawi, and the writer and doctor Ashraf Faqih. The publisher is Khaled Al-Nasiri from the famous “Med” publishing house.
The festival’s program includes more than 150 events, including the “We Love Life” event, which is a special night of poetry and performances in honor of the works of the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, and the “Late Night Program” session, which brings together the journalist Ibrahim Astadi with three creative people in their fields, namely Ahmed Khabit, Ashraf Fakih, and Kholoud Amir.
Ahlam Bolooki, CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Director of the Festival, expressed her great happiness with the new edition of the festival, saying: “Our inspiration for designing the program for this edition was the possibility of expressing ourselves; We have prepared a program that reflects the life processes we live today. A program in which the public, local and international, can see their interests and concerns.” She added, “The festival is a place that brings people together, regardless of their differences, in love with the written and spoken word, and enables them to form deep connections that last a lifetime.” Dr. Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, Executive Director of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, pointed out the authority’s keenness to support talent in various fields, which is in line with its commitments aimed at empowering members of the creative community and creating a sustainable environment that embraces them and is able to motivate them. To display their literary and artistic productions during the festival. He said: “Over time, the festival has turned into an effective platform for supporting talents, exchanging ideas, and anticipating the future of the cultural and literary sector, and with its program and activities full of fun and knowledge, it represents part of the cultural movement that Dubai is witnessing.”
The special events offered by the festival witness a large audience every year. In this session, the festival presents an evening of “Verses from the Depths of the Desert,” with the participation of a group of international and local poets. On another warm evening, poetry meets oud strings at the Theater of Digital Art (ToDA) in Souq Madinat Jumeirah; Where stories are told and poetry is recited with Ahmed Bakhit, Amal Al-Sahlawi, and Dr. Shihab Ghanem, Aisha Al-Seifi, and Muhammad Al-Habsi. On the tenth anniversary of his passing, the festival celebrates the poet Onsi Al-Hajj, a poet, a human being, and a philosopher, in the presence of his daughter, the poet Nada Al-Hajj, in an evening presented by the writer Salha Obaid.
Mohammed Ahmed Al-Murr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Library, novelist Ali Abu Al-Rish, and Dr. Rafia Ghobash, in a special session on the cultural and literary scene in the UAE. In another session, the audience searches with Sarah Al-Sarraf and Aisha Al-Seifi for an answer to the question: “Who is the real enemy of women?” In “In the Investigation Room,” the audience searches for a solution to the mystery of a complex case with the writer specializing in crime literature, Ibrahim Farghaly. In a session full of creativity in all its forms, the engineer and artist Maryam Al-Balushi, the composer Iman Al-Hashimi, and the contemporary artist Ahmed Al-Anzi, in the “Words Not Like Words” session, talk about art from the reality of their rich experiences. The festival offers a variety of dialogues and workshops on book publishing as an industry and business, in an effort to explore the publishing world community. This is through the “convergence” event. In a thought-provoking session, publishers Khaled Al-Nasri and Nahid Al-Shawa meet with writers Ahmed Abdel Latif and Asma Al-Zarouni; To discuss the Arab publishing industry.
The festival includes a series of distinguished dialogues and discussions on various topics, from teaching artificial intelligence the Arabic language with Nizar Habash, breathing life into Chinese myths with writer Su Lin Tan, searching for inspiration with Mathayel Al Ali, exploring the world of graphic novels with Dina Muhammad, and celebrating the forgotten. From history with Ashraf Fakih.
The festival hosts students, aged 16 years and above, in a group of inspiring sessions, as part of the “Youth Day” programme. Its sessions discuss topics on literature, business management and sustainability, with a focus on Arab culture.
Writer and puppeteer, Doha Khasawneh, presents the session “Let’s Think So We Can Fly More.” And the artist Ali Al-Zaini, session “Time to Draw”; Where children immerse themselves in the world of drawing and imagination. In the “Idea Factory” session with Aya Qassem, children become part of an adventure to reach the origins of creative ideas. In the session “They Are Truly Amazing” with Nahid Shawa, children draw inspiration from thirty stories of young women who were able to achieve their dreams despite the challenges, and succeeded in climbing to mountaintops, crossing seas, and overcoming difficult obstacles.