The Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival is an extension of a tradition that started more than 30 years ago.
The Al Wathba area, where the festival is held, is very much known for camel racing. Over the years, camel racing grew until it resembled a mini festival.
About seven years ago, the leadership of the UAE tasked the organising committee with working on a much bigger annual event.
We initially focused on Emirati heritage, but as the festival became more popular, in 2014, we divided it into a circuit with four areas representing the four environments in which people traditionally lived and worked in the UAE – by the sea, the desert, the oasis and the mountains, in recognition of that fact each geographical area had its own way of living, its own songs and handicrafts.
We also made strategic partnerships with exhibitions – for example the National Archive, which has rare images of Sheikh Zayed and historical documents.
Also that year, other countries took part, displaying their traditional folk art, and the festival had almost half a million visitors.
A lot of GCC and other Arab countries started asking if they could participate, so last year six countries came to showcase their traditional products.
This year, building on our theme of “Where world cultures meet”, we have 17 countries represented and the architecture of each cultural district at the festival resembles the architecture of the participating country.
We have 500 traditional shops selling handicrafts, 20 cooking stations and 1,500 shows being performed over 10 stages.
The UAE today has about 200 nationalities living together. In this festival, we celebrate the UAE as a place where people from different civilisations come to build, create and live safely, being understanding and tolerant of each other.
It’s very important, for the younger generation especially, to understand the background of these other civilisations.
We want youngsters to see how others are proud of their history and traditions, so they become even more proud of their own heritage. You can’t really appreciate your own culture until you also understand others’. Every culture is rich.
The daily international folk art parade at 7.30pm, where all the performers come together, is symbolic as it sends the message that we all live peacefully here and celebrate all our cultures.
With the Louvre and the Guggenheim coming to Abu Dhabi, it is becoming a cultural capital of the world as well as a capital made up of the cultures of the world.
We want to make foreigners feel part of the community. I had very mixed feelings recently when a couple of my friends sent me video clips of other nationalities singing in Arabic and raising the UAE flag. People in other parts of the world go on to become a citizen of that country, whereas the UAE has its own formula – yet our foreign residents are still very patriotic.
When I walk around the festival today, I see so many nationalities visiting. That’s a vision we as the UAE want to pursue further, and it’s a good example for other countries to follow.
The UAE has always been a beacon of hope to the region and the world. Nothing is impossible: the leadership has always taught us that.
If you go back and read the newspapers of 45 years ago, a lot of people at the time doubted that a union of seven states would happen.
Today, it’s much bigger than that – it’s a union of the world and the UAE. Today, we have a Minister of State for Tolerance. That sends out a big message.
Nasser Al Hamli is a member of the organising committee and head of the media committee for the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Festival, which runs until January 1 in Al Wathba.
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