The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) will launch a two-day forum at the Cultural Foundation this month which aims to spread Arab culture and promote cultural dialogue between nations
ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 20th Nov, 2019) The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) will launch a two-day forum at the Cultural Foundation this month which aims to spread Arab culture and promote cultural dialogue between nations.
The inaugural Orient Pioneers: Western Travellers in Arabia Forum will run from 24 - 25 November and will see prominent scholars, cultural specialists, writers and academics from the UAE and around the world gather to discuss five centuries of writings and the experiences of Western travellers in the region, with the event featuring thought-provoking keynote speeches and panel discussions.
An accompanying exhibition, Five Centuries of Adventure and Entrepreneurship: Western Travellers in Arabia, will be held from 24 to 30 November and will feature a collection of rare images, maps, and drawings of the trips made by Western travellers to the Arabian Peninsula for over five centuries.
On 24th November, Dr. Fahad Abdullah Al Samari, advisor at the Saudi Royal Court and Secretary General of King Abdul Aziz Dara, will open the first session which will discuss ‘Representations of Arabia in Western Travellers’ Writing’, along with moderator Chantal Saliba Abikhalil.
The second session that day will discuss the ‘Journey and Cultural Exchange between East and West’ and will feature King Saud University professor Dr Moajab al-Zahrani, University of Bahrain professor Dr. Dheya Abdullah Khamis Al Kaabi, and German writer David Wagner. The session will be moderated by Dr. Ahmed S. Mansoori.
The third session will discuss the Methodology Used to Study the Literature of Journeys to the Orient and Arabia and will feature British professor and writer Dr. Dionisius Agius, University of Bahrain professor Dr. Abdullah Yateem, and Polish writer Stanislaw Strasburger. This session will be moderated by Loolwa Almansoori.
The fourth session is entitled ‘Fostering Peaceful Dialogue and Cultural Exchange Between East and West to Promote a Culture of Tolerance and Acceptance’, and will feature Syrian researcher Issam Hajjar, Italian professor Dr. Shirin Nouri, Dr. Karin Pütt, and it will be moderated by Emirati Producer Yasser Saeed Al Neyadi.
On 25 November, the first session entitled ‘Comparisons of the Heritage of Western and Arab Travellers’ will feature Saudi critic Dr. Saad Al Bazei, British lecturer, PhD candidate and author Deborah Morgan Jones, and UAE University professor Dr. Hamad Bin Saray, with the session moderated by Dr. Mohamed Ouhaibi.
The second session will discuss the ‘Orient Pioneers Project: Ideas and Ambitions’ and will feature Acting Executive Director of Dar Al Kutub at DCT Abu Dhabi, Abdulla Majid Al Ali, Syrian historian Dr. Ahmed Ibeche, Russian professor Inna Savinykh, and moderator Fatima Alward.
The third session will discuss ‘Representations of Travellers in the Arabian Peninsula’ and will feature German historian and researcher Dr. Frauke Heard Bey, Emirati researcher and writer Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh, and Japanese academic and translator Dr. Kaoru Yamamoto. The session will be moderated by Alhanouf Mohammad.
The fourth session will be entitled ‘Presentation on Personal Journeys’ and will feature the first Arab to climb Mount Everest, Zed Al Refai, Syrian poet Nouri al-Jarrah, and Italian writer Eros Baldissera, to be moderated by Dr. Hana Subhi.
