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The newly appointed Higher Organizing Committee of Al Dhafra Festival 2011 met Tuesday to discuss the preparations for the new session of the Festival. The meeting was chaired by HE Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of His Highness the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Director General of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).
Other members of the Higher Organizing Committee who were present were: HE Abdallah Mubarak Al Muhairi; Director General of the UAE Camel Race Association and Deputy Chair of the Higher Organizing Committee, Mr. Paul Warren, Chief Strategy Officer at Sorouh Real Estate, Mr. Salem Al Mazrouei, Director of Al Dhafra Festival, Mr. Mohammed Al Muhairi, Director of Mazaynah and Mr. Abdullah Al Qubaisi; Director of Communications at ADACH.
The fifth session of the camel Festival is organized by ADACH from December 17 to 28, 2011 in Madinat Zayed in Al Gharbia (the Western Region), Abu Dhabi.
The Higher Organizing Committee discussed all the organizational, logistical and promotional issues in order to make the event a staggering success in line with the global reputation of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Opinions, advice and suggestions were exchanged between the Committee members about all ways for achieving greater development and success of the Festival in its various competitions and cultural and heritage events which successfully contributed to promoting and preserving our heritage.
The festival includes many heritage events, including the camel beauty contest, saluki (greyhound) competition, falcon competition, milky camel contest, date packaging competition, Nabati poetry competition, photography competition and cooking competition. There will be multiple heritage activities dedicated to children and school pupils besides the traditional market for the UAE’s traditional industries which has more than 180 specialized shops for UAE women.
His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of ADACH, issued a decision to restructure the Higher Permanent Committee for the Dhafra Festival in Al Gharbia in order to appoint HE Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei as Chairman, HE Abdallah Mubarak Al Muhairi as Vice Chairman, HE Nasir Al Awadi Al Minhaali, HE Misbah Mubarak Al Murr, HE Saeed Bin Mohammed Al Mansouri and Mr Paul Warren as members.
Al Mazrouei stressed that Al Dhafra Festival had developed in a very short time into a regional and international heritage event which has succeeded in implementing of preserving and reviving all aspects of Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage besides introducing the Bedouin culture and consolidating "Al Dhafra" name in Al Gharbia on the international tourist map.
"The Festival is a cornerstone in the strategy of preserving heritage, enjoys a high-level of national attention, and reflects the leadership’s ambition to make Al Gharbia a cultural tourist hub on the global level, in addition to boosting the economic activity in the region," said Mazrouei.
The Festival’s Chair expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, may God protect him, for "his endless support for heritage preservation projects and encouraging us to continue to bolster the culture of heritage festivals."
Mazrouei also highlighted the unlimited support of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to Al Dhafra Festival and "his great efforts to preserve our deep-rooted heritage and maintain our authentic traditions. These are the most important elements of maintaining our national identity and our civil and humanitarian account. This trend is one of the pillars of the approach that was taken by Sheikh Mohammed’s late father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul."
Mazrouei expressed his gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Gharbia, "for ceaselessly following this regional and international event and his constant presence at the Festival and the traditional market in particular, which embodies the long history of UAE traditions and handicrafts."
Al Dhafra Festival has turned - since its first session in 2008 - into a regional and international event which has attracted the attention of the media worldwide. Coverage of this Festival has demonstrated an admiration of the role of the Festival as part of the Abu Dhabi strategy implemented for the protection of its heritage.
The Festival was influential in raising awareness amongst the international press with regard to the great role performed by ADACH in cementing the link between the past and the present through the processes of interrelation, interaction and dialogue with different cultures and civilizations whilst at the same time protecting the ancient heritage of the UAE.
Around 20,000 camels took part in the last camel beauty contest in December 2010. In that contest, about 800 of the camel owners in the region competed for the Festival prizes which totalled Dhs3m. The top round of the contest was the Bayrak (flag) round for Assayel (pure-bred) camels and Majahim (dark-skin), in which each competitor must participate with 50 camels. The first prize value comes to Dhs1m.
Al Dhafra Festival Director Salem Al Mazrouei revealed that many of the changes and surprises introduced by the Festival were scheduled to take place during the next presentation of the Festival in December 2011. These changes will include the increase of the rounds of Dhafra beauty contest due to the expectation that more competitors will be attracted in the next session given the important position the Festival now occupies in the GCC countries.
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