Mohammad Al Marzooqi
Sponsored by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the dedicated event will feature Emirati-led sessions in Arabic on publishing, translation, cinematography, and more. Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, will headline a panel discussion on the future of Arabic language. Key panellists include Hala Badri, Director-General, Dubai Culture, who will speak on developing Dubai as a creative hub, and Major General Mohammad Ahmad Al Marri, Director-General, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs. They will discuss immigration reform and the UAE’s ‘Cultural Visa’ for creatives, exploring the UAE’s plans to build a sustainable society of talented individuals and why this will be critical to the nation’s plans to build a prosperous future for generations to come.
Dubai: For the first time, the forthcoming annual Emirates Airline Festival of Literature will have a mix of virtual and in-person sessions, fewer seats and multiple locations because of the COVID-19 pandemic, organisers said on Tuesday.
There will be no book signing events, with pre-signed copies of books instead available for purchase. Also, the award ceremonies will not be held at the event, such as the education awards, which will be delayed till March, the Month of Reading. Moreover, there could be changes to which authors will physically attend the event because of the “fluid situation” regarding flights, a virtual media briefing heard on Tuesday. Another change will see visitors having to select available seats online when buying tickets, like when choosing seats on the cashier’s screen at the cinema.