Sharjah 24 – WAM: Sheikh Zayed Festival brings various facets of Emirati culture to the public eye with a number of exhibitions highlighting practices and products from Emirati families. This serves to highlight the role that various institutions and their national initiatives play in the further development of these homegrown projects.
Among these family-focused initiatives is Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts, an Emirates Red Crescent project and institution that has worked tirelessly to empower low-income women through sustainable craft practices. The foundation’s support allows them to produce genuine local handicrafts and products. Over 200 Emirati and non-Emirati craftswomen of all ages from across the country work to produce garments, home decor pieces, stationary and various other gift items.
Through their participation in the festival, the foundation aims to reach new and exciting platforms for their craftswomen and introduce their products to a wider audience. This involves a number of popular public workshop displays, giving visitors a first-hand look at how these craftswomen utilise generations of inherited technical knowledge in their modern-day practice. Their work will help preserve these ancient traditions for years to come.
Located near the festival’s main gate, the Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts exhibition receives massive interest and interaction from festival-goers of all ages and nationalities. It is evident that the public is highly enthusiastic about the Emirati crafts and heritage practices demonstrated by the craftswomen throughout the day.
The exhibition hosts 14 craftswomen specialised in a number of traditional crafts that include: Sadu, Talli, Khous, Barqa and fabric spinning. Visitors are taken through each of these crafts, their history, ingenious production techniques, and their importance in daily Emirati life. The various natural materials used in each craft and the modernisation of each practice is also outlined by the craftswomen.
Among the exhibit’s highlights is "Hillel", one of the cartoon characters introduced by the Red Crescent Authority several years ago as a mascot representing some of the humanitarian foundation’s young volunteers. Hillel speaks to children and provides both advice and guidance. This mascot has proven both popular and effective with young volunteers who are active in the Red Crescent’s student program. This specialised youth initiative aims to promote the role of humanitarian and charity work in our coming generations.
In order to preserve and pass on many of these ancient crafts and traditions to future generations, Al Ghadeer UAE Crafts offers training courses for interested participants and in particular the youth.
These vocational workshops will give students a solid understanding of traditional Emirati crafts.
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