SIH promotes awareness of local heritage, Emirati identity

In this context, His Excellency Dr. Abdulaziz A Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH), stressed that the rich cultural heritage in the UAE is linked to a close relationship with the authenticity of society and the values of its individuals, through its ongoing programmes and initiatives, the institute is keen to enrich and diversify efforts to preserve heritage and identity, and consolidate community awareness among all groups and social segments regarding cultural heritage and its immortal elements, which reflect the history of this nation and document its cultural and civilisational achievements.

For her part, Aisha Ghabish, Director of the Department of Events and Activities at the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH), pointed out that the campaign constitutes a comprehensive heritage programme that includes a group of lectures and events organised during the current month of July in conjunction with the summer vacation season.

This comes with the aim of enriching the time of young people and the rest of the community by educating them and connecting them to the most important components and features of local heritage, it is a new qualitative initiative that stems from the institute’s goals of preserving local heritage, along with the Emirati identity, promoting understanding and harmony, and developing a sense of identity and pride in values within local communities.

The heritage programme on marine life whose activities were organised on July 3 and 4, included holding a discussion session on characteristics of the marine environment, and the customs and traditions associated with it, delivered by Emirati heritage researcher Juma Bin Thalith. In addition to organising an exhibition on the features of the maritime heritage, and presenting collective songs for the people of the sea in cooperation with the Bin Majid Society for Folk Arts and Rowing, along with the participation of a number of children, and the holding of a group of popular games, workshops and educational activities that included reading sea stories, drawing on pottery, and various competitions.

While the second part of the campaign will be organised on July 8 and 11, aims to hold a series of workshops and lectures to raise awareness of a variety of heritage vocabulary.

It is noteworthy that the campaign comes within the activities of the summer season of the heritage awareness campaign launched by the SIH in mid-May, with the aim of spreading public awareness of cultural heritage in the Emirate of Sharjah, and includes many events and discussion panels in the field of heritage and culture in various cities of the Emirate.