Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts, heritage, and literature, organised the ninth edition of Live Our Heritage Festival which launched on 30 October at Global Village. The festival was attended by a number of important personalities, most notably Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Hasher Al Maktoum.

The ninth edition of the Festival falls under the theme ‘Treasures of Heritage from Emirati Culture,’ and its events will continue until 6 April 2019, where it will welcome a full turnout by visitors to the Global Village daily from 5 – 10pm.

Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General at Dubai Culture, said: “We are pleased to inaugurate the official opening of the festival in its ninth edition that will span six months, making it one of the longest heritage festivals in the country, compounding on the accumulated successes achieved by the previous versions. The festival will be key in attracting visitors to Global Village as it represents an ideal platform to spread awareness of our heritage, enlightening citizens, residents and visitors of the UAE’s rich history. On this occasion, it is our pleasure to thank our partners for their continued support of this festival year after year, and in particular, Global Village.”

Following her visit to the festival, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Hasher Al Maktoum said: “This festival is a clear indication of Dubai Culture’s efforts to preserve the UAE’s heritage. It also contributes to keeping our heritage alive in the youths’ minds and enlightening Global Village visitors on the vocabulary of our UAE heritage as the country is a hub that attracts tourists from all over the world. Such events emphasise the civilisation that prevailed in the region and the ability of Emirati people to adapt to different environments.”

Bader Anwahi, CEO of Global Village said: “We are delighted to host the Live Our Heritage Festival in cooperation with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority as this season’s signature Emirati cultural event at our Emirati Cultural Zone this season. This season, we are hosting the UAE’s largest Emirati Cultural Zone in our history in participation with various influential government entities. These include the UAE pavilion, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation Pavilion, AlSanaa Pavilion by Ministry of Community Development, Heritage Village by Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, Creative Hands initiative and the gathering of Emirati businesses in collaboration with Dubai SME at the Cultural Gate entrance. The zone highlights the richness and culture of our beloved country and its unique heritage to millions of our guests, from UAE residents and tourists. It provides a range of cultural festivals and events for families and educates the new generation on the most important features of the UAE heritage and traditions in a joyful and festive atmosphere.”

This year’s programme was divided according to the different environments of the United Arab Emirates, where the first month was allocated to the Bedouin environment, the month of December will be full of activities and events relating to the mountainous environment, and January and February 2019 will be dedicated to the agricultural and marine environments respectively; the festival will celebrate all the environments in unison from 1 March – 6 April 2019. The organising committee devoted the weekends (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) to folk art performances, heritage competitions and training workshops.

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the UAE’s rich heritage. The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures to enhance Dubai’s position as a creative and sustainable global city for culture, heritage, arts, and literature, with the aim to empower these sectors by developing creative and innovative projects and initiatives locally, regionally, and globally.