Opening ceremony
Amidst official Mauritanian hospitality and a wide cultural reception, the festival's opening ceremony was held at the Conference Palace in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, in the presence of His Excellency Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture; Her Excellency Safia Mint Antaha, Minister of Social Work, Childhood and Family in Mauritania; Professor Muhammad Ibrahim Al Qasir, Director of the Department of Cultural Affairs; Mr. Abdul Rahman Al Hassan, Governor of the capital, Nouakchott; Mr. Taleb Al Mahjoub, Mayor of the Municipality of the City of Tevragh Zeina; in addition to local cultural institutions, academics and poetry lovers.
The opening ceremony began with a recorded documentary, which took the audience through the events and activities of the year 2024, so that the audience could see, during the screening, the most prominent events of poetry evenings, literary seminars, forums, discussions, and new publications, presented by the House of Poetry in Nouakchott throughout the year.
Supporting young poets
Abdullah Al Owais expressed his happiness for the House of Poetry in Nouakchott reaching the tenth edition of its poetry festival, saying that the tenth edition of the Nouakchott Festival for Arabic Poetry is launched, as the House of Poetry in Nouakchott has devoted its efforts over the past years to gather Mauritanian poets to take turns on the House's platform, which has supported young poets, along with poetry pioneers. Al Owais pointed to the close cooperation between the Department of Culture and the Mauritanian Ministry of Culture saying that the House of Poetry should continue to give through various cultural activities, crowned by distinguished poetry readings and purposeful critical studies, in light of the close cooperation between the Department of Culture in Sharjah and the Ministry of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament in Mauritania, stemming from the solid fraternal relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, sponsored by the wise leadership in both countries.
Al Owais congratulated the poets who have published new collections, stressing that the publishing aspect raises the status of poetry and literature. He also congratulated the poets who have published new collections, which will constitute, in addition to the previous collections, a qualitative addition that raises the status of poetry and literature in these regions, and gives a great push to poets to be more creative and give.
The Chairman of the Department of Culture conveyed the greetings of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah to the participants in the festival, saying he is honoured on this occasion to convey the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and his wishes for success and prosperity.
Ruler of Sharjah support
Her Excellency Safia Mint Antaha referred at the beginning to the valuable cultural initiatives of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, saying that the opportunity should not pass without extending the highest thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, for his valuable initiatives in promoting Arab culture, especially the “Poetry Houses Initiative”, which includes the House of Poetry in Nouakchott. She added that House of Poetry in Nouakchott has been organising this festival for ten consecutive years, to be a beacon of culture and poetic creativity in the Arab world and in the African continent.
Her Excellency Safia Mint Antaha also welcomed the delegation of the Department of Culture in Sharjah, saying that she is pleased to welcome the honourable guests, headed by His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Department of Culture in the Government, who has always accustomed Mauritania to the trouble of traveling and enduring the fatigue of hardships. The evenings of poetry and nights of conversation here have known him well, so welcome to him among his family and relatives and in his homeland.
Fraternal cultural cooperation between Mauritania and UAE
Mint Antaha said that the tenth edition of the Nouakchott Festival of Arabic Poetry is a living embodiment of the fraternal cultural cooperation between Mauritania and the sisterly United Arab Emirates, especially the Emirate of Sharjah; the Emirate that has always been distinguished by its great support for arts and culture in the Arab world. She continued by saying that both countries celebrate together the launch of the tenth edition of the Nouakchott Festival of Arabic Poetry, giving the opportunity to prominent poets from Mauritania and its African surroundings to shine, innovate and interact with the Nouakchott audience, and to share their creativity and rich poetic experiences.
Her Excellency Antaha added that the Ministry of Culture, Arts, Communication and Relations with Parliament has worked over the past years to strengthen this cooperation with the Department of Culture in Sharjah, and this has been demonstrated through the House of Poetry in Nouakchott, by organising many literary festivals and cultural gatherings in various fields, in addition to honouring many actors in the cultural space.
Dr. Abdullah Al Sayed spoke about the House of Poetry in Nouakchott, saying that Nouakchott, both the government and the people, welcomed His Highness’s initiative, and the opening of the second of its houses, the House of Poetry in Nouakchott, was announced on September 3, 2015. Since that date, the House has been keen, under the guidance, care and follow-up of Sharjah Department of Culture, to implement ambitious programmes and visions to create serious cultural spaces; ensuring the continuity of cultural activity according to perseverance and clear standards, seeking to keep pace with the requirements of contributing to enriching the country’s poetic, intellectual and cognitive scene; therefore, each year of the past ten years has witnessed a practical programme loaded with various cultural activities.
Dr. Abdullah Al Sayed added that the House of Poetry has been keen to organise this festival in this month of every year, and its successive editions have formed a great poetic archive, which witnessed diverse participations by Mauritanian poets of different ages, tendencies and literary orientations. Since its fifth edition, it has opened up to the poetic experience in sisterly and friendly countries, focusing on the countries of the South where Islam and the Arabic language entered thanks to the preachers, intellectuals, merchants and schools of these countries.
The Director of the House of Poetry pointed out that under the direction of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, the radiance of the House of Poetry initiative extended to these countries. Hr added that five shining stars from Senegal, Mali, Gambia and Guinea are present with so they are welcome among their families and loved ones. As part of the signing of the collections, a Senegalese poetry collection will be signed from the collections issued by the Department of Culture.
Honouring
In continuation of what the House of Poetry in Nouakchott has been accustomed to, which is honouring Mauritanian cultural figures in conjunction with each edition of the festival, the tenth edition saw the honouring of 4 Mauritanian creators: the poet Mohamed Ould Taleb, the poet Sidi Mohamed Ould Bamba, Dr. Mohamed Al Mahboubi, and the poet and media figure Abu Bakr Al Mami.
The honouring comes In confirmation of the festival's honorary approach to celebrating literary figures who have enriched the Mauritanian scene with a rich cultural offering.
Publications
The first day of the festival was accompanied by the opening of an exhibition of a number of publications of Sharjah Department of Culture including Sharjah Cultural Magazine, Al Rafid Magazine, Al Qawafi Magazine, and Al Masrah Magazine, in addition to the department's publications represented by the poetry collections of the House of Poetry in Nouakchott, while the exhibition witnessed a wide turnout from the public who in turn purchased the publications to form an integrated cultural scene on the first days of the festival.
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