UAE joins celebrations for 32nd Al Janadriyah National Festival for Heritage and Culture

The UAE will celebrate its rich heritage and history at the 32nd Al Janadriyah National Festival for Heritage and Culture in Saudi Arabia through its pavilion at the site, led by of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.

The festival, taking place in Riyadh from 7 February, will play host to India as its guest of honour for this year, while the UAE pavilion will witness the participation of 145 people representing a number of the UAE’s government and private institutions and entities.

This grand celebration embodies the various aspects of desert life along with its customs and traditions. Through its pavilion, the Department seeks to highlight the elements of the UAE’s ancient intangible heritage, which shows the similarities between the customs and traditions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The pavilion also sheds light on a vital and vibrant aspect of the UAE's history, focusing on different aspects of the country's rich heritage life.

HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said: “Our pavilion reflects the deeply-overlapping cultural and social lives of the two nations to visitors to the Al Janadriyah Festival, especially as this huge cultural event is a platform to celebrate our authentic heritage and ancient history. The UAE gives a great deal of attention to the shared history of the GCC countries and supports its platforms, initiatives and elements, which is reflected in the many joint cultural and tourism cooperation efforts.”

“The Festival is an opportunity to demonstrate the UAE's efforts to register its heritage elements in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, while our participation contributes to the promotion of the UAE’s cultural and tourism elements and emphasise Abu Dhabi’s status as a leading cultural hub in the region. This year’s participation will feature over 40 diverse events and activities ranging from heritage and cultural to promotional and interactive. The noticeable cultural heritage congruence between the Emirati and Saudi customs and traditions, along with the previous successful experience of the UAE give this edition a greater gravity, which in of itself is a great catalyst for the revival and conservation of traditional heritage,” he added.

The pavilion is made entirely of traditional natural heritage materials, featuring mud architecture for 80% of the design, over an area of ​​6,500 square metres. This design aims to embody the UAE’s authentic heritage and its close connection with the local environment and the country’s commitment to its sustainability, including heritage items and traditional arts.

The UAE pavilion in the Festival features ‘Folk Performances’, underlining local heritage, including traditional art performances in traditional costumes, in addition to Al Razfa and Al Yola dance performances, and Emirati folk songs. The ‘Marine Environment’ section includes live performances of seafarers, demonstrations of the ways of making fishnets and Karakeer (fishing cages), pearl oyster shucking, in addition to seafarer songs, and seafood products. The festival also incorporates the ‘Bedouin Environment’ section, which includes live displays of falconry, Al Shilla and Al Taghrooda art performances, as well as Al ‘Azi and Al Tariq performances, to introduce such unique heritage colours that distinguished the UAE people throughout history.

The pavilion also offers a variety of ‘Heritage Products’, including traditional products and local handicrafts, within an integrated heritage village, while the ‘Traditional Cuisine’ section offers Emirati cuisine and traditional dishes prepared live at the festival, including authentic Emirati hospitality practices. As one of the pavilion’s most interactive sections in the Festival’s previous editions, the ‘Arabian Coffee Corner’ hosts thousands of visitors, who queue up every year to enjoy live demonstrations of the Emirati way of making Arabic coffee and its unique taste.

Furthermore, the pavilion incorporates ‘Al Barjeel’, a special element of UAE’s architecture widely used in heritage buildings, introduced into the design by using these ‘Barajeel’ (towers), which were specially designed with an 8-metre height for the pavilion, to illuminate the entire pavilion, adding an expressive and artistic touch to it.

The UAE’s participation will additionally include three photo exhibitions, namely the ‘Emirati-Saudi Relations Photo Exhibition’, the Heritage Photo Exhibition, and ‘The UAE: Past and Present’ exhibition.