The second session of the Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival begins tomorrow with various cultural events

2026/02/08 12:01:56 PM

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ABU DHABI, 8 FEBRUARY, WAM/ Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the activities of the second session of the Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival, organized by the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, will begin tomorrow, Monday, and will continue until February 11 at the ADNEC Abu Dhabi Center in a cultural event that brings together poets, creators, and the public around the Arabic poem as an integral part of cultural identity.

The second session of the festival comes in the context of the cultural movement taking place in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and within the framework of the Year of the Family 2026 initiatives, reflecting the role of poetry in promoting societal values and establishing communication between generations.

This session also comes as an extension of the success achieved by the festival in its first session, which witnessed the participation of more than a thousand male and female poets, and a public attendance of more than fifteen thousand visitors, which consolidated its position as an Arab cultural platform that brings together poets and those interested in poetry in one space for dialogue and creativity.

The activities of the first day begin with a group of seminars and dialogue sessions that discuss the presence of poetry in society, including the “Our Blessing” session for senior citizens, organized by the Family Development Foundation, and the “Poetic Transformations in Gulf Song” symposium with the participation of researchers and specialists in popular literature, in addition to a session presenting research projects for postgraduate students and organized by Mohammed bin Zayed University for the Humanities.

The intellectual sessions continue in the evening, with topics such as “Why do we read poetry today?” Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, “The Role of Poetry in Documenting Incidents,” and “The History of Poetry in the Arab Valley,” with the participation of a number of researchers and specialists.

Poetry evenings are attended as a main focus of the program, where Nabatean and Classical poets meet in successive poetry readings. The first day also witnesses a program of Emirati performing arts, including Rababah, Shallah, Mankus, Al-Wuna and Al-Taghrouda, in addition to the popular art of Qalta and Shallah.

The festival continues on its second day through a diverse cultural and cognitive programme, starting with the “Al-Kharaif” session, which deals with the narrative heritage, followed by a dialogue session entitled “The Millionaire’s Poet between the First and Twelfth Seasons”, which reviews the program’s experience and its impact on the Arab poetic scene, in addition to a symposium entitled “Popular Media and the Nabataean Poem”, and the “The Job is a Poet” session organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi.

The second day will witness a “Nabati poetry souvenir” and a number of evening poetry evenings, including an evening entitled “In Praise of Communication” and an evening dedicated to university students, in addition to a presentation of the finale of “The Millionaire’s Poet” as part of the evening program.

Traditional performing arts also continue, along with podcast episodes, which host poets and critics to talk about their experiences and visions about poetry.

The third day is devoted to discussing the future of Arabic poetry and its relationship with the media, where a symposium on “The National Poem between the Pulpit and the Media” will be held with the participation of researchers in popular literature and cultural media, in addition to a session on the narratives of the Crescent biography in the Emirates, and a dialogue session on the Al-Mankus program.

The third day will also witness the organization of a specialized symposium on popular literature and future studies, and an intellectual session entitled “The Future of Arab Poetry,” while the “Our Blessing” session for senior citizens continues, within the cultural program of the festival.

During the third day, a “poetry recital for people of determination” and poetry evenings will be held, and the festival’s activities will conclude with the closing poetry evening.

The festival allocates space to develop new talents through the “Little Poet’s Corner,” which offers educational workshops for children in Arabic calligraphy, Arabic calligraphy, and the arts of recitation, in addition to interactive sessions that introduce them to classical and Nabataean poetry.

The festival also supports a daily cultural podcast that documents its activities and hosts the festival’s guests and participating poets.

The Abu Dhabi Poetry Festival celebrates Nabati poetry as an essential component of Emirati and Gulf culture, along with a space for eloquent poetry, in a vision that combines authenticity and innovation, and emphasizes Abu Dhabi’s role in supporting Arab poetry and preserving cultural heritage.

The second session of the festival embodies the continuation of the cultural project adopted by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to consolidate the position of poetry in cultural life and enhance its presence in society, thus confirming the emirate’s position as an Arab cultural center that combines heritage and modernity.