Beyond its formidable connotations, literature, when pared down to its essential function, makes for one of the most enlightening experiences in life and to build a festival of thoughts associated with it has been a hallowed tradition in many countries. Dubai has now impressively made a place for itself in this prestigious club. Now in its sixth edition, the Emirates Literature Festival this year is once again bringing to Dubai a participative energy that is uplifting and thought-provoking as it embellishes the intellectual and cultural aspirations of people with its vast offering of cross-cultural views and opinions of writers, thinkers and chroniclers of life and history from around the world.
This creative coalescence, as a tradition, can do wonders for a society’s intellectual growth. If we believe that we live in a global village — which we now accept is one way of looking at our world — we need to appreciate, support and make the most of endeavours like these that move us towards a greater purpose of collective understanding of how we all can coexist peacefully and with a meaningful exchange of ideas and values.
