Hadramawt International Festival November 11-16, 2000 [Archives:2000/44/Last Page]
archive
October 30 2000
Yemeni music accompanies all moments of social life and it proves to be of an astonishing richness. Music is an important element for the cultural identity of its people. It has been able
to preserve originality within the Arabian countries hence it seems justifiable to organize a festival underlining the musical variations existing in the country. On April 24 2000, the Ministry of Culture made a decision to organize an annual festival to preserve the traditional repertoire, promote young artists, discover new talents and valorize the musical patronage for the up coming generations. Along with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Yemen, the festival was greatly welcomed and hence supported by the Hadramawt Welfare Association, French Embassy in Sanaa, the Maison de la Cultures du Monde and French Ministry of Culture, Paris, as founding partners. The UNESCO, World Bank, British Council in Yemen, Radio France International and GTZ have also showed interest to support the event. Beyond its organizers wish to promote and preserve the cultural heritage of Yemen the Hadramawt International Festival also aims at enhancing international artistic dialogue with due respect to cultural identities, developing mutual knowledge between people of different countries, showcasing Yemeni arts and culture both at national and international levels, helping Yemeni artists access the network of international festivals and exhibitions, promoting awareness of the cultural heritage and environment of Yemen, strengthening Yemeni non-governmental institutions in the cultural sector, improving Yemens image in the international media, providing good advertising and marketing opportunities for sponsors, supporting traditional Yemeni handicrafts and encourage the development of tourism. The festival will cover a wide-ranging series of activities distributed over the historical cities of Shibam and Sayoun. The Sayoun concerts will be staged inside the Museum; the former palace of the Sultan. There will be two main concerts a day, one national and one international. An exhibition including a variety of Yemeni artists will be held in the Sayoun Palace itself. Several artists will be there to present their work. This years poetry day will take place in the palace as well. Most of the folklore street music will take place in Shibam, reflecting the richness of the local Hadrami traditional and emphasizing the natural and architectural beauty of the city and its environment. The GTZ is programming a series of workshops with the children of Shibam just before the festival, Children painting their city. The result of their work will be presented during the festival in Shibam. The folklore music in the streets and the possible collaboration of the Womans Association of Hadramawt will likewise encourage local people to participate in the festival in the coming years.
For the coming years the construction of a podium is planned outside the city of Shibam. This requires that a whole area should be reorganized . Negotiations regarding this project have begun with the Municipality, local owners of the land and potential foreign donors. Some international media has been contacted in order to provide coverage of the event. This includes Al-Jazira Television, ART, Liberation, Le Nouvel Observaateur, France Culture and Le Monde. As far as non-musical events are concerned the program will also cover fine arts exhibitions, poetry lectures and, if possible theater. Sayoun and Shibam will showcase the arts and the traditional culture. Tourist agencies participating in the festival will help make the event a success and will be able to take advantage of this excellent opportunity. They will be invited to set up the infrastructure necessary to adverse and promote the event through their existing contacts both in and out of Yemen. They could assist in setting up the festivals events and its facilities e.g. craft exhibitions, tourists camps, and eco-tours in coordination with the local board of Hadramawt . Emphasis will be made to ensure childrens participation. The British Council will sponsor an exhibition Children Painting Their Rights (over 4000 drawings from various cities of Yemen will be presented.) Concerts, puppet shows, theater and other such activities will be set up in the interest of children. The activities will be set up so as to inform children of specific themes concerning their cultural environment. The presence of children in the festival is a means to reinforce a cultural identity. By creating workshops and concerts within the schools for the children their curiosity can be awakened and hence their sense of criticism may be sharpened. This may give emphasis on the importance of introducing a cultural identity at an early stage. Those who are most conscious of their cultural patronage are most apt to preserve it. The GTZ is supporting a series of workshops and an exhibition with the children of Shibam Children Painting their town. By introducing these different activities the historical patronage, including both Sayoun and Shibam will be highlighted.
