Under the Patronage of H. H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival is set to Launch today

The Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival, held under the kind patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, will take place from 12th to 15th of October at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) under the slogan “Poetry Inspires Us", in cooperation with the Emirates Heritage Club. The Festival is being organized by the Cultural Programs and Heritage Festivals Committee - Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival will be attended by over 1,000 poets alongside an esteemed group of local, regional, and global intellectuals, authors, and media professionals for the biggest celebration of Arab poetry.

The festival aligns with the strategic goals of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, aiming to promote the sustainability of cultural heritage and strengthen the prominence of Nabati and classical Arabic poetry. It strongly emphasizes enriching the Arab cultural landscape, safeguarding, preserving cultural heritage, and sustaining the tradition of Arab poetry. 

Abu Dhabi is widely  recognised as a nurturing environment for poetry, creativity and talent, and most of all, is an enthusiastic supporter of literary arts, contributing to the cultivation of literary creativity, keen on fostering and nurturing intellectual awareness in the Arab world, enriching the Arab cultural scene, and most importantly, devoted to preserving the poetic, literary and cultural heritage of the UAE and Arabic-speaking countries.

The festival seeks, through a range of styles such as Nabati or classical Arabic poetry, to broaden the audience base of poetic and cultural creativity, setting the scene to explore new creative poetic talents, highlighting arts and literature, and providing a true artistic platform that plays a great part in the sustainability and steady growth of poetry and literary arts.

The festival aims to support the cultural and literary movement in the Arab world, to refresh and invigorate the well-known and esteemed status of Arabic poetry, cultures, heritage and arts, as well as provide a platform where poets, writers, and literary figures can meet, connect and explore different poetic forms in an immersive and dynamic environment.

The Festival will also host the "Abu Dhabi Poetry Conference", which runs from October 12th to 14th, with sessions that will focus on critical and academic studies and genres of Arabic poetry, the most prominent activities, programs and initiatives taking place on the poetic scene at the moment, emerging poetic talents and performances of some of the most prominent current poets,  shedding the light on their achievements, highlighting the Emirati poetic scene and the role played by Abu Dhabi in the exchange of artistic experiences and knowledge between great talents in the fields of classic and Nabati poetry, as well as demonstrating Abu Dhabi's keenness for championing the promotion of Arab poetry and revealing its aesthetic to the whole world.

The Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival will feature several pavilions and platforms, including a pavilion for Emirati poetry. It will also present "The Poetic Trail" platform, an icon of the festival which is designed to shed the light on the multiple stages and evolutionary heights of Arab poetry throughout the history of this fine linguistic art, which has been one of the most beloved forms of expression for generations extended over thousands of years in the Arab world.

The Festival will host a number of specialized cultural seminars and poetry evenings with the participation of poets from various Arab countries, there will be a book signing corner, where authors get to meet and interact with readers and sign their new publications, and a very special pavilion for children where the next generation can discover the beauty and resonance of poetry. 

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