Celebrating Arab history-makers: Sharjah International Narrator Forum to be held from September 21 to 23

The 22nd edition of the Sharjah International Narrator Forum (SINF) will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from September 21 to 23.

The forum will witness intellectual and cultural activities, training sessions, and interactive programmes for the public, comprising 26 workshops. The SINF Café, SINF Library, book signing and releases corners will provide a valuable repertoire of 40 titles of books, publications, and brochures.

The forum will attract more than 160 participants, including experts, researchers, storytellers, and media professionals from 46 countries, namely the Arab Gulf states, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan, Libya, and the Comoros Islands, as well as from Africa, Kenya, Senegal, and Asian countries including India, Pakistan, China, Korea, Singapore, the Philippines.

On the local level, several government agencies will contribute to the success of the event, with representatives from Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority, Sharjah Documentation and Archives Authority, Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Centre, Emirates Heritage Club, National Library and Archives in Abu Dhabi, and Knowledge Without Borders. In addition, some cultural centres and associations will attend, including Bin Majid Society for Folk Arts in Ras Al Khaimah, from the Kingdom of Morocco participate in the Encounters Association for Education and Cultures, in addition to the Nahma art activities from Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Australia will participate alongside people from Europe, Germany, Spain, France, Britain, the Czech Republic, Norway, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Italy, the Dominican Republic, America, Canada, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil.

The exhibition for this year’s forum will celebrate the Emirati navigator and astronomer Ahmad bin Majid, reviewing the marine heritage in the UAE and linking it to the legacy of Ibn Majid, who contributed to a significant shift in this field.

Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH), said the forum celebrates Arab narrators and history makers, highlighting their timeless oral narratives and the treasures of the UAE, Gulf, Arab and global heritage.

Al Musallam elaborated that the new session under the slogan “Sea Tales” will take visitors on an exploration of the depths of this vast world, searching for hidden pearls, and traversing its exotic worlds. The journey will be woven with symbols and tales to document the close relationships between people’s lives and the sea, with meanings, hopes, and dreams that embody the reality of societies throughout history.

Aisha Al Hussan Al-Shamsi, director of the Arab Heritage Centre of the Institute and General Coordinator of the (SINF), explained that this year’s guest of honour would be the Emirati professor and artist Ibrahim Juma Al Hajj Ibrahim, who will be joined by Kuwaiti poet Muhammad Al-Fayez, and various other Kuwaiti artists. Other luminaries attending include Saad Al-Faraj, Hayat Al Fahad, Muhammad Al Mansour, and Abdul Rahman Al-Saleh, who will celebrate the Arab Gulf states with their rich heritage deeply rooted in history.

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