Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, organized by the Emirates Literature Foundation and as part of the 14th edition of the major literary event, will begin tomorrow, February 13. Under the slogan “Here comes the sunrise”, at the festival’s new headquarters in Al Habtoor City hotels overlooking the Dubai Water Canal.
The Emirates Literature Foundation revealed that the first day of the festival, which is one of the most important international literary events, was dedicated to celebrating Emirati talents, and includes literary, cultural and poetic sessions and events, while addressing a number of important topics such as the cultural economy, women models who excelled in making their paths in life, and careers. The future, and other vital topics. Among the most prominent participants in the activities of the first day, His Excellency Omar Saif Ghobash, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Cultural Affairs, who will address the journey full of success and excellence that the UAE has taken in its paths to hosting the largest event in the world “Expo 2020 Dubai”, and will also talk about his journey In the world of writing and his discovery of his novelist voice while writing his first novel. The festival will host one of the most prominent Emirati businessmen, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, who will shed light on inspiring details of his amazing journey, his views and ideas, and his biography and life. While the creator Muhammad Saeed Hareb, creator of the famous cartoon series “Freej”, will share his journey with creativity and artistic ambitions that he had since childhood, while Dr. Habib Al-Attar and Samira Ahmed will address the stereotypical view of those who take art as a profession in a rich discussion within the session “Effect in Art” ». In the first weekend, the festival will host prominent literary and intellectual models from around the world, led by the multi-talented actor, Ben Miller, who will bring with him to the festival his latest adventures to delight children. the star who achieved widespread fame during the stone period, Rob Biddolph; And the star of famous cooking programs, and mental health activist, writer Nadia Hussein, who will discuss ways to manage her life in light of the challenges she has faced since winning the “Britain Bakes” program.
Other sessions focus on self-care, mental health, and how a person can do better. Among the participants, the psychotherapist, Sasha Bates, who mixes personal and professional experiences to talk to the masses about her ability to overcome the state of loss, and presents her unique experience, which she documented in details in her book “Languages of Loss: A Psychotherapist’s Journey Through the Stages of Grief and Grief”. Jessica Moxham, an activist for the rights of people with disabilities and their families, who will tell us about what she learned from her son of determination, which she documented in her book “The Cracks That Allowed Light to Enter.” The first week also introduces Mathilde Logan and Rosina Ahed, pioneers of today’s Muslim women’s self-help books.
The festival will host a selection of top novelists, most notably Brett Bennett, author of “The Vanishing Half,” Alka Joshi, author of “The Henna Artist,” and Toshikazu Kawaguchi, who achieved a prominent position through his tales of time travel in his novel “Before the Coffee Cools.” and Pakistani actress and model, Mira Siti, who will be telling fans about her first short story collection, Are You Enjoying? In addition to Salma Al-Dabbagh, who will lead a session to understand the romantic symbols used by women writers in the Arab world, and the novelist Avni Doshi, who will talk about the process of telling stories through the senses. Fans of Japanese animation “anime” can learn about the source of the ideas of novelists and illustrators through the sessions of Fumio Obata, Ken Arto, and Fadel Saeed Al Muhairi. Jessica Siracci, Director of the 2019 Venice Biennale, discusses the dilemma of contemporary art and answers the question: Who is afraid of contemporary art? Drawing inspiration from the course she gave at the famous Tate Museum of Contemporary Art, Lucinda Dickens Huxley discusses the data that makes art great with Mirna Ayyad, former director of Dubai Art.
Azza Fahmy, a fine jewelry designer, will narrate her journey from the bustling stores of Cairo to becoming one of the most recognized jewelry designers in the Arab world. The Anglo-Indian writer, whose roots go back to Pakistan, Marina Wheeler, provides a closer look at the events of the last century, and returns to an important era in history to tell the story of her mother’s early years, on which the decision to partition had a significant impact on her in her novel The Lost House. Raphael Cormac provides an in-depth look at the cosmopolitan culture of Egypt during the interwar years of the last century. The history hub will also host ancient anthropologist Alaa Al-Shamahi, who will present interesting sessions on the history of the handshake, while Salma Siri and Daniel Newman will delve into history to learn about the experiences of cookbooks, in a distinguished session at the Jameel Arts Center.
In his latest novel, writer Ashraf El-Ashmawy brings audiences back to Egypt in the twentieth century, and he will discuss the art of writing a historical novel in a panel discussion entitled “Retelling History: Between Imagination and Truth” with the novelist Lulwa Al-Mansoori and the writer Sultan Al-Mousa. The social media poet, Nikita Gill, will present her exceptional performance, “Virgins, Legends, and Monsters,” which has been critically acclaimed; It looks through the ancient Greek history of the legendary Greek heroines.
Dubai Sphinx and Hadeel Ghoneim will discuss their favorite childhood stories, and how those stories inspire their journey with writing. Hana Al-Hashemi and Mona Ali Khalil shed light on “the future of diplomacy after Covid-19”, while Al-Arabiya broadcaster, Fatima Al-Dhawi, gives advice to the next generation of women looking to work in the media field, and tells through her biography the story of diligence in order to achieve success. The festival’s agenda includes a workshop for budding Wikipedia editors, explaining “how to contribute to the Wikipedia Encyclopedia”, in addition to the many workshops for all ages on a wide range of topics, such as poetry, writing, publishing, sustainability, and other important topics. The program also includes several technical and craft workshops in Arabic and English; Dedicated to children of all ages, and a range of entertainment sessions, for the little ones on the weekend. Polly Dunbar, author of the award-winning Penguin picture book, discusses two of life’s most important questions: What does it mean to be safe? How do you maintain your calm? She talks about her book “The Lion remains a Lion”. Prior to the launch of their new book, Pearl Aisha, Julia Johnson and Maitha Al-Khayyat will explore pearl diving traditions through storytelling and exquisite graphics.
Young adults will be delighted to meet author Ally Sparks, author of the award-winning Transformation series, to learn about her latest book and her latest fantasy adventure, Night Forever, which reaches a stunning conclusion to the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Also, the festival’s fans are on a date with the award-winning Filipino-American writer Irene Entrada Kelly, whose works have won the approval of audiences and critics, and among her most important works, “Hello World,” “The Land of Forgotten Girls,” and her latest work, “We Dream of Space,” which is A story of three brothers who discover that life is rarely sweet and without challenges and hardships. In her novel “Strangers in Love”, writer Sajida “SK” Ali, who specializes in adolescent literature, talks about Jana Youssef, a charismatic girl, who will share her inspiration, stories and themes at the festival. The festival concludes the first weekend with two unique events, on Monday 7 February, when the public can enjoy a three-course banquet and celebrate the anniversary of the birth of writer Charles Dickens, with an invitation to attend the “Miss Havisham’s Wedding” event, specially hosted by the granddaughter of the great writer Charles Dickens, Lucinda Dickens Huxley. This is in addition to a magical evening at Expo 2020 Dubai with a selection of poetic performance stars, Carlos Andres Gomez, and the brilliant Emirati poet, Dr. Afra Atiq, accompanied by the music of Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Brent Shuttleworth. The festival adheres to all precautionary measures related to “Covid-19”, and visitors will be required to commit to wearing face masks and submit either a vaccination certificate or a negative test certificate issued within a maximum of 72 hours from the date of the festival visit. The festival is held in partnership with the official sponsor, Emirates Airlines, and the co-founder, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority /Dubai Culture/. on the website. You can follow the developments and news on # EmiratesLitFest – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – YouTube. And for all the developments and events throughout the year #ELFDubai Facebook – Twitter – Instagram.