Ajman: Neighbouring the widely acclaimed Cultural Capital of the UAE — Sharjah — Ajman has been trying its best to find a space among the caretakers of cultural activity in the UAE.
Both official and public interest in reflecting the true cultural face of the UAE has flourished, making the mission more difficult for Ajman, but the exercise has blossomed and added to the richness of the menu of cultural activities in the country.
Almost 11 years after the establishment of the Ajman Culture and Information Department (ACID) Ajman today prides itself on a busy cultural and artistic programme that has helped to build a prominent image of the emirate in recent years.
The head of the department says in spite of the small programme held in the emirate compared to those conducted by cultural authorities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Ajman is also playing an important role in promoting the heritage and culture of the UAE and the region, while fostering ties with figures of culture in the Arab world.
Leading figures
"Activities being organised in the emirate have attracted a number of leading Arab and international figures, thanks to the dedicated work and sincere efforts of every worker and employee in ACID and the volunteers who are supporting the activities of the department to highlight the spirit of culture and arts in the country," said Ebrahim Saeed Al Daheri, General Manager of ACID.
In this interview, Al Daheri, outlines the strategy to promote local culture and explains the links between UAE culture and the art movement in the Arab world. He also sets out the objectives of arts and cultural activities in the emirate and how they can work alongside the efforts of cultural authorities in the country.
Gulf News: The cultural and information department in Ajman has now been running for more than a decade. Do you think investment in this sector has paid off?
Al Daheri: I think culture cannot be discussed in isolation from other human and social activities in a nation or a country. I don't see how nations and institutions can build up a business image for instance without paying enough attention to making its arts and culture life known to its new generations and others, especially those who live and work in close contact.
The main objective behind the establishment of the department of culture and information in Ajman in 1999 was to promote cultural activities on a par with economic and business activities in the emirate.
The department is not an authority to control the outflow of news from Ajman. The main assignment was to preserve local culture and arts and to showcase it to residents of the UAE regardless of their backgrounds or nationalities, whenever such demonstrations of local culture were possible.
We failed to catch the opportunities sometimes and we succeeded in others over the past 11 years. That is natural. Generally speaking, we tried hard to work with other cultural authorities in the country to bring our local culture to the forefront of the activities being conducted in the country. Today, no one can deny the fact that there is greater attention to cultural and arts activities in the UAE than ever before.
Great success
There are more individuals and groups that are focused on promoting the local characteristics of UAE social life than was the case some 20 years ago. This is by itself a great success. Taking into consideration the downturn of cultural activities around the world, the UAE has definitely moved in a positive direction in the past two decades and we will continue to do so in the future.
ACID is one element in the great building of the UAE's arts and culture and workers here tried to perform their duty towards this goal in the best possible manner. I am sure we have done quite good things in the past and we will continue to do so in the future.
What are the cultural and arts activities you feel have distinguished Ajman's cultural agenda?
First of all we were looking to enhance the promoting of UAE culture along with other players and provide what we deem necessary to present the full picture. The book fair, the Rashid Bin Humaid Cultural Prize and the Fine Art Fair were just some of the pillars of cultural activities in the emirate.
In my opinion we have quite a few achievements including the most recent cultural activity: The third Shahinda Seminar for Novel Creativeness. The unique event was based on the female protagonist of Shahinda by Shaikh Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the prominent UAE novelist and former UAE Foreign Minister.
The event, the third since the prize was introduced, has hosted a number of prominent Arab and local writers in the field of travel literature. It focuses on promoting this kind of literature in the Arab library.
Do you think the Shahinda prize will have an impact on novel writing activities in the Arab world?
I think the prize has had a positive impact on Arab and local literature. The feedback received from conducting the event for three consecutive years in Ajman suggests that we have more work in the field of the prize or at least a better awareness about the message of the prize.
Are you planning any other cultural activity with a regional or an international flavour?
Yes, we are planning a number of events with an international flavour. ACID is looking currently to interact with other civilisations through a number of activities including the exchange of arts and literature.
Tomorrow, for instance, a recital of German and Arab poetry from the Gulf region will be conducted in Ajman.
Five prominent poets will recite their poems in German with their Arab counterparts reciting the translated version of the same poems in Arabic.
The second round of the event will start with reading the selected work of four famous GCC poets and one poetess from the UAE with a translated version of the same pieces read by their German counterparts.
The event, which has been conducted for the third time in the Arab world, might become a permanent event on Ajman's cultural agenda.
What are the overall objectives of promoting cultural activities in Ajman?
We are looking to see people involved in cultural life in the country the same way that they are involved in conducting businesses.
We felt that public activities concerning the exchange of culture among UAE residents representing a variety of cultures were rather weak and we are trying to promote a cultural exchange. We look to show the richness of our culture and its strong bonds with cultural activities in the rest of the Arab world.
An artistic translation of Arab and German poems composed by prominent contemporary poets and poetesses, the event will be held in Ajman with similar functions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Manama and Berlin.
Focus: Reviving heritage
The Ajman Culture and Information Department was established by the Amiri Decree No. 3 in 1999. Since its inception, Shaikh Abdul Aziz Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi was appointed Chairman of the Department and Ebrahim Saeed Mohammad Al Daheri its General Manager.
The department has been entrusted with revitalising cultural activities in the Emirate of Ajman and activating a cultural life in the emirate with a special focus on reviving cultural heritage.
More than a decade later, Ajman is now bustling with cultural activities that handle issues and cover topics that stretch beyond the border of the small emirate. It has become an important player in a number of pan-Arab and international events.
The department organises annual events with an international flavour. The Shahinda Seminar for Novel Creativeness for instance in which the Shahinda Cultural Prize is distributed has already concluded its third tournament. The German-Arab Poetry Smuggling Festival is another new event to be held in Ajman. The event is aimed at exchanging cultural activities with Germany and to become a platform for international exchange of culture throughout the year.
The department takes part in a number of national, pan-Gulf and Pan-Arab cultural events including the theatre festival in Sharjah and a number of art and book fairs in the GCC and in the Arab world.
Currently ACID publishes its own magazine and invests in a popular FM radio station. The department has applied for a licence for a daily newspaper and plans are under way to launch the product once approval is issued by the federal government.
From fine arts exhibitions to poetry events, Ajman is building its image as a prominent player in UAE cultural life.
The events being organised by the department enhance other activities organised and conducted by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, Dubai Culture and the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information.
Smuggling of poetry
An artistic translation of Arab and German poems composed by prominent contemporary poets and poetesses, the event will be held in Ajman with a similar function in Riyadh, Manama and Berlin.
The smuggling of poetry means the translation of the spirituality of poems. Four Arab poets and a poetess from the GCC will meet with their German counterparts in Berlin to translate their best composed poetry and tour four cities including Ajman to recite their work. One German poem will be read to the audience followed by its translation into Arabic and vice versa. Poems will be recited in the event scheduled to be held at the Kempinski Hotel in Ajman tomorrow.
The event has been organised by the literature workshop in Berlin in cooperation with the Goethe Institute, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Germany and the Ministry of Culture and Information in Bahrain. The project managers are Dr Thomas Wohlfahrt from Germany and Kasim Haddad from Bahrain. Poetry from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the UAE will be recited in the event along with their translation into Germany. Haddad and Ali Shirqawi from Bahrain, Mohammad Al Dumaini from Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Al Nabhan from Kuwait, Mohammad Al Harithi from Oman and the only poetess in the group, Nujoom Al Ganem from the UAE. The German side includes: Gerhard Anton Falkner, Thomas Wohlfahrt and Leila Chammaa.
