Abu Dhabi

The National Festival for Tolerance and Human Fraternity, organised by the Ministry of Tolerance, will be launched in its second edition from November 8 to 16, Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance, announced in the capital yesterday.

The festival will be conducted under the slogan “Following the Way of Zayed” to celebrate the heritage of tolerance established by the late Founding Father Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, he said.

Sheikh Nahyan said the festival will include more than 150 events and initiative in collaboration with more than 100 ministries and federal, local and private bodies. It will host activities and programmes related to tolerance for more than 25 embassies through cultural, heritage and artistic shows through their pavilliuons at Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi where the festival will be held.

In addition, the “1,000 Innovations” Project will be launched as one of the most innovative initiatives of the UAE to focus on enriching knowledge-based content in the fields of writing and visual arts, and promote tolerance among different groups to reach the whole world.

The festival will be launched in “The March of the Peoples” in Abu Dhabi, led by a number of ministers, senior officials, intellectuals, senior writers and university professors of the UAE. Around 50 ambassadors of countries will also be taking part.

Shaikh Nahyan said the addition of “Human Fraternity” to the festival’s name aims to highlight the Human Fraternity Document for World Peace and Co-existence, which was signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb in Abu Dhabi last February.

He explained that working towards harmony, peace and tolerance in local and global communities is a goal set by the Ministry which is committed to implement the principles.