The festival kicks off tomorrow with the participation of international authors and influential personalities
Al-Blocky Dreams: “Emirates Literature” enriches the creativity scene despite the challenges
Festival Director: "This year's session focuses on (changing the story), as the culture and creativity sector witnessed unprecedented challenges."
This year’s festival story begins at the Jameel Arts Center for the next two days.
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In exceptional circumstances, and amidst many challenges, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature begins again, to begin tomorrow a new chapter of the story of culture, creativity and intellectual dialogue, which seems to be more wager than ever this year.
How will this vision be formed, and how will the festival embody the "spirit of the period" "by changing the story" this time ... and what are the details of this change on the ground?
The inquiries carried by "Emirates Today" to the director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, Dreams of Al-Bulooki, which revealed some of the peculiarities of the 2021 program and the surprises it holds for the public in its rich activities and sessions, with the participation of a group of authors, innovators and influential inspiring Arabs and foreigners.
About the festival’s new developments, its surprises, and the most important changes that have occurred to it, Ahlam Al-Bulooki confirmed that “this year's session focuses on (changing the story), as the culture and creativity sector witnessed at this time unprecedented challenges, and the contribution of the Emirates Literature Foundation in supporting artistic and cultural institutions and enhancing the status of creativity. And to supplement the scene with everything that enhances its prosperity, the Emirates Literature Foundation has relied on three wonderful locations to hold the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in all parts of Dubai, over the course of three consecutive weekends.
The festival’s story begins this year from the Jameel Arts Center (over the next two days) and “Al Serkal Avenue” (12-13 February) and the festival’s headquarters at the “InterContinental Hotel” Dubai Festival City (from the fourth to the sixth of next February), and this is the time. The first in which the festival’s activities will be expanded to include various parts of the emirate, according to the festival’s director, who noted that the event will shed light on a set of distinct topics that will attract the interest of all visitors, and will include a group of live performances and various virtual sessions that seek to attract the interest of all segments. Public of Culture and Arts.
Pioneering initiatives
On the pioneering cultural roles that the festival has played and is still playing in order to uphold the banner of culture and arts and lay the foundations for constructive intellectual dialogue, Ahlam Al-Bulooki revealed the festival's new initiative "Written Writing", which was announced days before the celebration of the International Day of the Arabic Language 2020, explaining: «We We are determined, in cooperation with the global company (Google), to enhance the presence of Arab authors on the Internet, by increasing the number of their pages on the encyclopedia (Wikipedia) in the first place, in addition to establishing a culture of information sharing, by training the largest possible number of volunteers to search and audit and provide reliable information about Arab writers and their books on the Internet, based on our goal of providing Arabic literature literature on a continuous basis to readers from all over the world ».
And she continued: “On the other hand, the festival is keen to provide a platform for Arab writers and authors, as about 42% of our sessions were held in Arabic during last year's session, and we expect to approach 50% this year.
We are also happy with the group of Arab authors participating this year, who will leave wide positive resonances among various segments of society in the Emirates and the rest of the region.
Shine despite the restrictions
Despite the repercussions of the "Covid-19" pandemic, this year the festival continues to attract international literary experiences and influential Arab and foreign figures, as Ahlam Al-Bulooki confirmed that “the festival program in 2021 seeks to provide an opportunity for literature lovers from all over the region to meet their favorite local, regional and international writers, Discussing a variety of topics, through programs that focus on their usual interactive nature, through a group of workshops that suit all ages and cultures.
As some international authors are unable to attend the festival due to travel restrictions, they will have the opportunity to participate virtually in the events.
The number of tickets available will also be reduced and seats will be allocated in advance to ensure compliance with the rules of social distancing. ”
She referred to the alternative plans put in place by the organizers this year to enhance the attendance of the cultural festival and its usual shine locally and internationally in light of the current circumstances, by expanding the scope of its activities to include the Jameel Arts Center and "Alserkal Avenue", to ensure access to a wider audience, and to confirm the festival's value and impact. It seeks to achieve more convergence between society, art, literature, and various forms of creativity.
Issues and Impacts
Regarding the issues raised by the festival this year in relation to the effects of the pandemic on the culture sector locally and internationally, the future of literature and publishing, and the solutions proposed to overcome them, the director of the festival said: “Our program is always centered around the current and prevailing issues that are in the forefront of the (Covid-19) crisis with its great repercussions on the whole world.
Despite our optimistic vision and our hopes for a better future, the festival's list includes authors who have published literary works that address the current situation, or offer ways to maintain physical and mental health, including Amin Maalouf, Thomas Erickson, Alison Key Williams, Mimi Nicklin, Nafeh al-Yassi, Sherif Arafa, and many more. ».
On the achievements that the festival has established to this day that serve the local cultural scene: “The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature continues to consolidate and spread the love of reading, by gathering writers and their audience of readers in one place, which will encourage non-readers to love this habit and adopt it as a culture of life.
Despite all the difficulties that the world of art and culture has gone through, the festival seeks to remain a historic place to celebrate the stories that connect all people of different ages and cultures, and constitute a source of inspiration and motivation for the audience.
She pointed out that the first session of the festival witnessed the participation of only six Emirati authors, while about 46 Emirati authors participated in the session last year, noting that “over the course of 12 years, the festival has hosted more than 1700 authors from all over the world.
It also organized live broadcast sessions for writers through public and private schools across the country, and gathered under its umbrella a group of authors and thought leaders from different cultures to discuss the most important current topics, including business, sustainability and current global affairs issues.
This is in conjunction with an active student program in which he cooperated with educational institutions to increase their participation rates in the festival.
A platform for talent
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is setting new strategies this year to attract promising local experiences. The director of the festival, Ahlam Al-Blocky, revealed that the festival will continue to provide a platform for young talents to share their stories, after the "Emirates LitFest" writing competition achieved a record of achievements. With the help of local talent to sign global publishing agreements.
This year, the festival will also launch a "launchpad" platform, which provides local talent with the opportunity to present their books to the public.
50%
The percentage of Arab sessions in this year's session of the festival.
1700
Composed of all over the world, the festival succeeded in attracting them, during the past editions.
46
Emirati authors participated in last year's Emirates Airline Literature Course.
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