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Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center Reveals Shortlists for Sard Al Thahab Award

A total of 15 works from eight countries have been selected to compete across four categories. WAM
A total of 15 works from eight countries have been selected to compete across four categories. WAM
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Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center Reveals Shortlists for Sard Al Thahab Award

A total of 15 works from eight countries have been selected to compete across four categories. WAM
A total of 15 works from eight countries have been selected to compete across four categories. WAM

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) has unveiled the shortlists for the second edition of the Sard Al Thahab Award, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Wednesday.

A total of 15 works from eight countries have been selected to compete across four categories: ‘Short Story for Published Stories’, ‘Popular Narratives’, ‘Short Story for Unpublished Stories’, and ‘Illustrated Story,’ WAM said.

In addition to these, the center will announce the winners in the ‘Narrators’ and ‘Emirati Narration’ categories, along with the winners in the four categories, over the coming months.

The shortlist features works from the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. The increase in the number of participating countries highlights the award's rapid expansion and its capacity to attract creative talents across its six categories.

The shortlist for the ‘Short Story for Published Stories’ category is: ‘The Two Sisters’ by Ali AlAbdan from the UAE, published in 2023 by the Emirates Writers Union; ‘The Last Storyteller in This Time’ by Abdulrahman Abbas from Sudan, published in 2023 by Rwafead Publishing & Distribution; and ‘The Green Dragon’s Wife and Other Colourful Tales’ by Rawaa Sunbol from Syria, published in 2019 by Alaan Publishers & Distributors.

The shortlist for the ‘Popular Narratives’ category features: ‘Bahraini Folktales: One Thousand and One Tales’ by Dr. Dheya Abdulla Khamis AlKaabi from Bahrain, published in 2018 by the Arab Institute for Research & Publishing; ‘Encyclopedia of Folktales: One Thousand and Eighty Tales from Northern Upper Egypt’ by Dr. Sayed Fares from Egypt, published in 2023 by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage; and ‘The Hidden Heritage: The Sumerian Legend and the Gulf Novel of the Al-Sirah al-Hilaliyyah’ by Fathy Abdelsamie from Egypt, published in 2024 by Dar Waad for Publishing and Distribution.

The shortlist for the ‘Short Story for Unpublished Stories’ category has five entries: ‘Rooms with People Running Underneath Them’ by the Iraqi writer Yas AlFahdawi; ‘Biography of a Creature’ by the Moroccan writer Said Alfellak; ‘Suspended Souls’ by the Egyptian writer AbdelHady Ibrahim; ‘Judeilah Weather’ by the Egyptian writer Aida Deraman; and ‘Al Hashashat’ by the Tunisian writer Nasr Sami.

The shortlist for the ‘Illustrated Story’ category has four works: a documentary film titled ‘Tifan’ by Aaesha Alteneiji from the UAE; a photograph titled ‘Grandma’s Stories’ by Nuwair Alhajeri from the UAE; a photograph titled ‘Wife’s Loyalty’ by Issa Mohamed from Bahrain; and a drawing titled ‘Antara and Abla’ by Mahmood Shubbar from Iraq.

The jury selected the nominated works based on their alignment with the award's standards and objectives, reinforcing the award's commitment to excellence and fostering creativity in the literary field.

The Sard Al Thahab Award is an annual initiative launched by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center. Its objectives are inspired by the poetry of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Father of the Nation. The award aims to serve as a platform that merges creativity with intellectual thought, fostering an artistic movement that draws upon Sheikh Zayed’s creative legacy as a foundation for new forms of creativity.

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Culture

Saudi Arabia: Ship of Tolerance Initiative Promotes Cultural Dialogue in Jeddah

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wrth) will offer traditional craft workshops throughout Ramadan. SPA
The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wrth) will offer traditional craft workshops throughout Ramadan. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: Ship of Tolerance Initiative Promotes Cultural Dialogue in Jeddah

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wrth) will offer traditional craft workshops throughout Ramadan. SPA
The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wrth) will offer traditional craft workshops throughout Ramadan. SPA

The Saudi Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with the "Lenobadir" volunteer and community partnership program and the Athr Foundation, has launched the Ship of Tolerance initiative in Historic Jeddah during Ramadan.

The initiative aims to enhance shared human values through arts, and promote tolerance and coexistence among children and families. It provides an educational and cultural experience aligned with the area’s unique character as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

As part of this global art project, children will create artworks that represent acceptance and dialogue.

The Royal Institute of Traditional Arts (Wrth) will offer traditional craft workshops throughout Ramadan, linking the initiative's values with local heritage and enriching visitors' connection to the region's identity.

This effort supports cultural programs with educational and social dimensions in Historic Jeddah, activating local sites for experiences that combine art, crafts, and community participation. It aligns with the National Strategy for Culture under Saudi Vision 2030, focusing on heritage preservation and expanding culture's impact on daily life.

Culture

Oscar Contender ‘Hamnet’ Boosts Tourism at Shakespeare Heritage Sites 

A view of Shakespeare’s Birthplace, William Shakespeare's childhood home, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Britain, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
A view of Shakespeare’s Birthplace, William Shakespeare's childhood home, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Britain, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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Oscar Contender ‘Hamnet’ Boosts Tourism at Shakespeare Heritage Sites 

A view of Shakespeare’s Birthplace, William Shakespeare's childhood home, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Britain, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)
A view of Shakespeare’s Birthplace, William Shakespeare's childhood home, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Britain, February 9, 2026. (Reuters)

On a cloudy winter's day, visitors stream into what was once William Shakespeare's childhood home in Stratford-upon-Avon and the nearby Anne Hathaway's cottage, family residence of the bard's wife.

Hathaway's cottage is one of the settings for the BAFTA and Oscar best film contender "Hamnet", and the movie's success is drawing a new wave of tourists to Shakespeare sites in the town in central England.

Shakespeare's Birthplace is the house the young William once lived in and where his father worked as a glove maker, while Hathaway's cottage is where he would have visited his future wife early in their relationship.

Typically, around 250,000 visitors, from the UK, Europe, the United States, China and elsewhere, walk through the locations each year, according to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. ‌The charity looks after ‌Shakespeare heritage sites, which also include Shakespeare's New Place, the site of ‌the ⁠Stratford home where the ⁠bard died in 1616.

Visitors are flocking in this year thanks to "Hamnet", the film based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel, which gives a fictional account of the relationship between Shakespeare and Hathaway, also known as Agnes, and the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet in 1596.

"Visitor numbers have increased by about 15 to 20% across all sites since the film was released back in January. I think that will only continue as we go throughout the year," Richard Patterson, chief operating officer for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said.

"They particularly want ⁠to look (at) Anne Hathaway's cottage and the specifics around how the family ‌engaged in the spaces and the landscape in and around ‌the cottage... you can see why he would have been inspired."

NEW ACCESS TO SHAKESPEARE

"Hamnet" has 11 nominations at ‌Sunday's British BAFTA awards, including best film and leading actress for Jessie Buckley, who plays Agnes. It ‌also has eight Oscar nominations, with Buckley seen as the frontrunner to win best actress.

"Hamnet" is set in Stratford-upon-Avon and London although it was not filmed in Stratford.

It sees Paul Mescal's young Shakespeare fall for Agnes while teaching Latin to pay off his father's debts. The drama, seen mainly through Agnes' eyes, focuses on their ‌life together and grief over Hamnet's death, leading Shakespeare to write "Hamlet".

"Shakespeare... is notoriously enigmatic. He writes about humanity, about feeling, about emotion, about conflict, ⁠but where do we understand ⁠who he is in that story?" said Charlotte Scott, a professor of Shakespeare studies and interim director of collections, learning and research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

"And that's driven people creative and otherwise for hundreds and hundreds of years. Where is Shakespeare's heart? And this is what the film I think has so beautifully opened up."

Little is known about how the couple met. Shakespeare was 18 and Hathaway 26 when they married in 1582. Daughter Susanna arrived in 1583 and twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585.

The film acknowledges the names Hamnet and Hamlet were interchangeable back then. While grief is a dominant theme, audiences also see Shakespeare in love and as a father.

"A lot of people will see this film not necessarily having... had any kind of relationship with Shakespeare," Scott said.

"So people will come to this film, I hope, and find a new way of accessing Shakespeare that is about creativity, that is about understanding storytelling as a constant process of regeneration, but also crucially, looking at it from that kind of emotive angle."

Culture

Culture Ministry Continues Preparations in Historic Jeddah to Welcome Visitors during Ramadan 

Historic Jeddah has emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination during Ramadan. (SPA)
Historic Jeddah has emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination during Ramadan. (SPA)
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Culture Ministry Continues Preparations in Historic Jeddah to Welcome Visitors during Ramadan 

Historic Jeddah has emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination during Ramadan. (SPA)
Historic Jeddah has emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination during Ramadan. (SPA)

The Saudi Ministry of Culture is continuing its efforts to revitalize Historic Jeddah in preparation for welcoming visitors during the holy month of Ramadan, offering cultural programs, events, and heritage experiences that reflect the authenticity of the past.

The district has emerged as a leading cultural tourism destination at this time of year as part of the “The Heart of Ramadan” campaign launched by the Saudi Tourism Authority.

Visitors are provided the opportunity to explore the district’s attractions, including archaeological sites located within the geographical boundaries of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed area, which represent a central component of the Kingdom’s urban and cultural heritage.

The area also features museums that serve as gateways to understanding the city’s rich heritage and cultural development, in addition to traditional markets that narrate historical stories through locally made products and Ramadan specialties that reflect authentic traditions.

These initiatives are part of the ministry’s ongoing efforts to revitalize Historic Jeddah in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and aiming to transform it into a vibrant hub for arts, culture, and the creative economy, while preserving its tangible and intangible heritage.