Dubai Airports sponsors Emirati Strand at Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2011

Dubai, UAE – March 3, 2010 – Dubai Airports has joined the Middle East’s largest annual literary event, Emirates Festival of Literature 2011, as a sponsor of the festival’s Emirati Strand, which this year features 14 of the UAE’s top Arabic authors and emerging stars.

Opening on March 8, the five-day festival will feature more than 100 authors – including award-winning English and Arabic writers, poets and journalists from over 26 countries.

Drawing a parallel between the festival and the airport, Jamal Al Hai, Senior Vice President, Dubai Airports said that both ultimately aim to foster openness and understanding by bringing people from diverse cultures from around the world together.

“Dubai Airports is proud to be associated with Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, which now in its third year is already a globally recognised literary event. We are particularly honoured to sponsor the Emirati Strand,” said Al Hai. “This sponsorship is in line with Dubai Airports’ commitment to promote Emirati culture and encourage reading, writing and creativity in workplaces, schools and homes across the UAE.”

The Emirati Strand this year will feature some of UAE’s most celebrated writers, including poets Mohammed Al Murr, Ali Al Shaali, Wael Al Sayegh, Ibrahim M Ibrahim, Nujoom Al Ghanem, and Khalid Al Budoor. The Arabic fiction genre will feature Maha Gargash, Maryam Al Ghafli, Mariam Al Saedi, and Amna Al Mansouri, while Ahmed Amiri, Nasser Al Dhaheri and Jamal Al Shehhi will bolster the Arabic prose segment with their presence.

A unique addition to the Emirati Strand this year will be the participation of Desert Heat: Ilmiyah and Arableak, the Dubai-based Emirati brothers who mainly rap in English but represent their roots and people. An employee of Dubai Airports, Ilmiyah – or more formally Salim Dahman, will illustrate how elements of hip-hop can be found in Bedouin poetry, and discuss its impact on a new generation of Arabs in the region. The duo will also perform at the Festival.