ABU DHABI // If there were any lingering doubts about how far from ordinary the Womad festival will be, they were dispelled yesterday by a group of dancers from Zimbabwe.
The dance troupe Siyaya offered a taste of things to come when the international celebration of world culture opens at the Corniche tonight with a performance at the Emirates Palace hotel in which they sported a combination of traditional African attire and decidedly untraditional construction hard hats and Wellington boots.
Their lively media preview was a tantalising appetiser for a festival that promises to be radically different from the mainstream.
Siyaya will also have the honour of being the first performers at the festival proper, at which they will be accompanied by children from a cross-section of Abu Dhabi schools, where they have been holding workshops over the past week.
The cultural smorgasbord will feature some of the biggest names on the world stage, including the veteran UK rocker Robert Plant and the Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour, the Nubian-Egyptian Mohamed Mounir, who combines elements of traditional Egyptian music and African-style reggae, and the Algerian Rai master Khaled.
As well as three evenings in Abu Dhabi, there will be a Womad concert tomorrow at Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain. All the events are free.
"It will be a rich cultural experience," said Abdullah al Amri, the director of the art and culture department of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and the man who first thought of bringing Womad to the capital after attending the festival last year in Spain. "For the first time, locals and visitors will experience and get a good picture of the heritage of the region as well. The workshops will also reflect that."
Artistic collaborations on the two stages on the Corniche public beach will include the UAE's Kamal Mussallam Group alongside Sokoor and Magabeel from Jordan, while Marcio Local from Brazil, The Dhol Foundation from the UK, Sa Dingding from China and Los de Abajo from Mexico will be making highly anticipated appearances.
A number of workshops will also be held every day with a focus on teaching children about music and dance, and there will be cooking classes at which some of the performers will prepare their national specialities. Although parking is limited around the Corniche, free shuttle bus services will be provided from the Intercontinental Hotel, Marina Mall and Port Zayed.
sbhattacharya@thenational.ae
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
