UAE | Heritage and Culture

Nations urged to preserve traditions and customs

The first Regional Meeting for the Arab States on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage got under way on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair yesterday, bringing countries together to encourage the preservation of traditions, beliefs and customs.

  • By Rania Habib, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:00 April 2, 2007
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: The first Regional Meeting for the Arab States on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage got under way on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair yesterday, bringing countries together to encourage the preservation of traditions, beliefs and customs.

The meeting, held under the patronage of Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), centres on the implementation of the 2003 Unesco convention for safeguarding intangible heritage, and inventory making.

"The UAE was one of the first Arab countries to ratify the convention," says Dr Esmail Ali Al Fihail, head of the department of research at ADACH.

"Only five other Arab countries have ratified the convention, and they are Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Jordan and Oman," adds Dr Al Fihail. "We need to encourage other countries to join, to preserve this rich heritage that is owned by Arab countries."

International cultural heritage experts are taking part in the regional meeting, sharing their experiences with national authorities. Specialists from Japan, Vietnam, Mali, Morocco and Sudan will discuss techniques, inventory-making, and cultural preservation. Dr Al Fihail explains that intangible heritage is divided in five groups.

"You have oral literature, traditions [such as ceremonies], beliefs, performing arts and handicrafts. In the UAE, we've taken all of these and added oral history, which is very important to us here.

Information

"Last year, we began a general survey of the heritage of the Abu Dhabi area, where we have 24 researchers collecting information."

The survey includes all groups of UAE citizens, who are approached within their authentic environments by research teams that collect elements of intangible heritage through interviews, observations, photographic and video recording.

Exhibition: Photographs bring heritage alive

A photo exhibition entitled 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity' is open to the public at the Book Fair, with colourful photographs of international intangible heritage.

From Morocco, a photo of the cultural space of Jemaa Al-Fna Square, protected since 1922, is a symbol of a strong concentration of tradition.

From Italy, the Sicilian Puppet Theatre, which had its heyday in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is safeguarded today thanks to efforts that started a century ago.

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