"Abu Dhabi Culture" and"French national industries" Expect a memorandum of understanding to enhance cultural cooperation

Paris, July 23/ WAM/ The Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Industries and Handicrafts Foundation of the French Ministry of Culture, as part of a strategic cultural partnership that reflects the UAE and France’s keenness to enhance technical and knowledge exchange between cultural institutions in the two countries.

This partnership aims to launch joint educational programs and initiatives that support emerging creative talents, contribute to developing craftsmen skills, preserving heritage, preserving traditional crafts and developing them with contemporary methods that enhance their sustainability and employ in the current cultural scene.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture in Paris, His Excellency Hoda Ibrahim Al -Khamis, founder of the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group, founder and technical director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, and Herve Lomwan, President of the National Industries and Handrarafts Foundation, in the presence of His Excellency Rachida Dati, French Minister of Culture.

His Excellency Rachida Dati said that the Memorandum of Understanding represents a new stage in the path of relations between France and the UAE, where culture continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening this cooperation, and this step is consistent with the goals of the international openness of the National Industries and Handraraft Corporation, as it is a unique center in the world in the field of crafts and decorative arts.

She emphasized that this partnership, with its convergence of arts and handicrafts, will add an important dimension to the relations of cultural cooperation between France and the UAE, and Abu Dhabi in particular.

His Excellency Hoda Ibrahim Al -Khamis, founder of the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, founder and technical director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, said: Through our partnership with the National Industries and Handicrafts Foundation of the French Ministry of Culture, we have established the foundations of sustainable cooperation, based on three pillars of pivotal: creativity, innovation and heritage preservation of generations, in order to embody our pride in our identity and roots, and keep pace with the times and modernity together as a commitment Common between the UAE and France.

She added: We believe together that the past is the close link between us, and the future is the message that brings us together, and through the Memorandum of Understanding, we hope that our efforts will support young talents, expand its horizons, and enhance excellence in handicrafts.

In turn, Herve Lomwan, President of the National Industries and Handicrafts Corporation, said: This unprecedented dialogue between the two institutions embodies a firm conviction that the future of decorative arts lies in the convergence of traditions with innovation, and our partnership with the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts will open broad horizons for experimentation, as heritage craftsmanship meets with contemporary imagination, allowing new innovation of new narratives that weave from Joint creativity, knowledge of knowledge and the spirit of renewal.

His Excellency Nicolas Nimcheneo, Ambassador of the Republic of France to the Emirates, said that this strong partnership is based on common values centered on creativity, innovation and the transfer of knowledge, stressing that it represents the start of a new and important chapter in the path of close relations between the UAE and France, considering culture and education one of the most important tools for building bridges and enhancing joint understanding between the two countries.

His Excellency added: The Memorandum of Understanding constitutes a valuable opportunity for craftsmen, designers and institutions in the two countries to exchange knowledge, benefit from the rich craft balance of both sides, and support excellence in the fields of handicrafts, in a way that enhances the concepts of innovation and sustainability and enshrines the continuity of this living heritage.

He continued: The Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, in cooperation with the National Industries and Handicrafts Foundation of the French Ministry of Culture, contributes to building a cultural environment in which traditions meet with modernity, and allow the prosperity of new ideas, and we will work through this cooperation with the UAE to instill inspiring foundations for a new generation of artists, craftsmen and culture makers.

The United Arab Emirates and France gathered firm cultural ties in the areas of culture and arts creativity and an ancient human heritage in traditional handicrafts, especially in the arts of ceramics, textiles and design.

This historical partnership comes between the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group and the National Industries Foundation and handicrafts to deepen this joint heritage by enhancing cultural dialogue, linking craft heritage to contemporary trends through artistic residence programs, specialized exhibitions, and educational initiatives that contribute to consolidating the concepts of innovation and sustainability.

The first initiatives of this partnership in the open invitation embodied to submit applications for nomination for the creative residence grant in Paris in partnership between the two sides, which gives the UAE designers a distinguished opportunity to directly interact with the French design environment, and to benefit from specialized workshops and rich design archives.

The jury will be held in August 2025 to choose the winning participant, with the first technical residence in September in conjunction with the Paris Design Week.

Parallel to technical exchange efforts, the partnership seeks to explore contemporary methods of handicrafts based on integrating technology with sustainable practices, with a focus on developing educational resources that inspire young generations and contribute to preserving decorative arts and transporting them as a living heritage inherited by generations.

This cooperation is an extension of the message of the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts and its vision in promoting investment in cultural and creative industries and stimulating cultural diplomacy and international partnerships in the UAE and from them to the world, while providing creative platforms to highlight artistic excellence in the field of traditional heritage industries and handicrafts.

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