Kutubna Cultural Center kicks off Dubai Humanities festival

October 16, 2024, Dubai, UAE – Kutubna Cultural Center, Dubai’s newest independent bookstore and cultural center, is kicking off the second edition of its Dubai Humanities festival of scholarship next month. Dubai Humanities celebrates the work of Khaleeji scholars and scholars based in the Gulf and allows people to engage with emerging scholarship and new ideas. The festival will take place from November 2024 to May 2025.

The Dubai Humanities festival will gather scholars and thinkers from the region and abroad and explore diverse topics across history, philosophy, literature, art history, and other disciplines in the humanities. Last year’s inaugural festival was organized by Budoor Al Rahma, one of the first-ever volunteers at Kutubna. Budoor is a 21-year-old Emirati student at NYUAD who is now continuing her education at Harvard. The first edition of Dubai Humanities attracted young Emiratis eager to engage in conversations on topics typically reserved for university classrooms and academic conferences. 

This year’s theme focuses on research and scholarship that address the realities, meanings, and possibilities for scholarship in times of war. Through talks and panel discussions held in both Arabic and English, visitors are invited to examine and discuss scholarly and philosophical dilemmas of our time. 

Dubai Humanities is not a traditional academic conference in its format. The festival format is designed to make it easier for parents and families to join, and it is the first festival of its kind in the region. Events may be organized with activities for young children, including sensory play for toddlers and painting sessions for kids of all ages. This way, parents can engage in discussions and explore ideas alongside their families without leaving their children behind. The festival aims to build an inclusive community for people of different ages and backgrounds – as well as members of the community who are often left out of scholarly conversations.

Shatha Almutawa, founder and director of Kutubna Cultural Center, said: “At Kutubna Cultural Center, we want to make creative and scholarship pursuits accessible to a diverse group of people. This includes people outside of academia, parents with young children, and people who cannot travel to participate in international conferences. Khaleeji culture already respects scholars and scholarship and gives scholarly topics room in the media, especially in newspapers and television. What we want to do with Dubai Humanities is to integrate deeper conversations into life outside the settings where these conversations already exist, so people outside of academia can be active conversation partners with academics and researchers, and so that mothers raising small children can also engage in meaningful conversations around important topics.”

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Editors notes

Kutubna Cultural Center was established in 2023 as an independent bookstore and literary hub for Dubai and the Gulf region. Kutubna offers an inclusive community space to enjoy books, art, specialty coffee, and cultural events. Kutubna’s vision is to become a premier destination for literary and cultural enrichment in Dubai and the Gulf region.

Kutubna celebrates the accomplishments of Khaleeji, Arab, Middle Eastern, North African, and Muslim writers, poets, thinkers, artists, and researchers. We amplify these essential voices through lectures, readings, guided conversations, workshops, and other activities for people of all ages. Kutubna strives to make creative and scholarly pursuits accessible to people who are traditionally at the margins. We work especially hard to make cultural events easier for mothers with young children to attend.

For more information, please visit the website: www.kutubna.ae.