“Abu Dhabi Book” .. Events and sessions examining the impact of the pandemic on literature

The exhibition hosted an elite group of personalities to talk about the renaissance of the Emirates.

WAM

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair presented sessions that dealt with the impact of the pandemic on literature, and the relationship of culture to diplomacy, in addition to sessions praising the history of the UAE.

The exhibition hosted a dialogue session dealing with the state of literature during the pandemic, with the participation of Talib Al-Rifai, a Kuwaiti novelist and storyteller and a cultural advisor to the National Council for Culture, Arts and Literature in Kuwait, and Iman Al-Youssef, an Emirati writer, researcher and lecturer on cultural diplomacy.

The session deals with the role of reading in enabling readers to escape the consequences of the pandemic, and its importance in giving them the calm and comfort they need under these circumstances.

The exhibition was hosted by the Director of the Zayed National Museum, Dr. Peter Magee, who shed light on the latest discoveries about the history of the UAE. He also presented the book “The Emirates: Our History and the New Curriculum”, which traces the journey of the UAE and its inhabitants from 125 thousand years to the present day. The emergence of cultures and trade links throughout the ancient world, the domestication of camels, the invention of the falaj irrigation system, and the development of tribal and national identities.

From history to culture and diplomacy, the exhibition presents a session entitled "Reading Between the Lines: The Thin Diplomatic Thread", which deals with the extent to which workers in the diplomatic corps and the media need to integrate with the cultures of the countries they move to, and the importance of temporarily abandoning our point of view and our prejudices, so that we can understand The customs of the host countries, to avoid the so-called cultural imperialism.

Participating in the session will be former American diplomat David Rendel and Jennifer Steele, author of the book "The Woman Who Fell From Heaven."

In cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, the exhibition hosted a story evening on the second stage, which included readings in two short story groups, recently released within the Literature and Book Corridor initiative, which is "Planet 10" by the Emirati writer Basma Younes, and "When the Earth was Square" by the Emirati writer Lulwa Mansouri.

The exhibition hosted an elite group of personalities to talk about the renaissance of the Emirates and the story of its development, during a session entitled "The Year of the Fifty and the Road to the Future."

The session was attended by the cultural advisor to His Highness the President of the State, Zaki Nusseibeh, the country's ambassador to France, Ali Abdullah Al-Ahmad, the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UAE, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Dakhil, the critic and writer Dr. Fatima Hamad Al-Mazrouei, and the French writer Gilbert Sinoue.

Young visitors were on a date with a day full of interesting activities, as the main theater hosted artistic performances by the Abu Dhabi Children's Library, in addition to a reading session, while the second theater hosts reading sessions, artistic performances, and various programs offered by the Abu Dhabi Children's Library.

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