Sharjah Ruler attends launch of 26th Sharjah International Narrator Forum
His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, attended the opening of the 26th edition of the Sharjah International Narrator Forum (SINF) on Wednesday morning at the Institute’s headquarters. The forum, organised by the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (SIH) and held from 23 to 27 September under the theme “Stories of Friends”, was hosted at the Institute’s headquarters.
The opening ceremony began with a speech by Dr Abdulaziz Al Musallam, President of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, who stressed that friendship is a deeply rooted human and cultural value and serves as a vessel for stories, values, and experiences passed down through generations. He noted that ancient Arab heritage is rich in works, stories, and biographies that explore friendship and the meaning of a friend, while Emirati heritage also carries many meanings and symbols that reflect the importance of friendship in social and cultural life.
Al Musallam explained that the current edition of the Sharjah International Narrator Forum features more than 100 narrators, experts, researchers, and media professionals from over 30 countries. The Republic of Finland is the Forum’s Guest of Honour, represented by the honorary figure Jarno Peltonen, in recognition of its rich storytelling and epic heritage, prominently reflected in the epic “Kalevala”. The Kingdom of Bahrain is also honoured, represented by distinguished artist Mohammed Yassin, the edition’s Featured Figure.
The Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage noted that this edition brings new additions and marks a significant development in its academic programme, training workshops, and specialised publications, which number more than 30 titles. It also features three exhibitions: “Secrets of Friends”, “Friends’ Collections”, and “Ambassador Without Borders”, alongside participation by a number of organisations, cultural centres, universities, institutes, and government entities. He stressed that the Forum has become an annual occasion to recogniseand celebrate the custodians of heritage and guardians of memory, having honoured more than 200 male and female narrators from the UAE, the Gulf region, the Arab world, and beyond. This reflects Sharjah’s commitment to safeguarding human heritage and to strengthening the role of storytelling as a bridge for communication between cultures and peoples.
His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and the attendees watched a video highlighting the importance of friendship and its role in building human relationships based on affection, respect, and trust. The ceremony also featured an artistic performance that showcased a number of situations embodying the value of friendship in people’s lives, the support and assistance it provides at different stages, and its role in strengthening communication and fostering harmony among members of society.
His Highness honoured the honorary figure of the 26th edition, Jarno Peltonenfrom the Republic of Finland, and artist Mohammed Yassin from the Kingdom of Bahrain, along with a number of Emirati narrators, in recognition of their contributions to storytelling and oral narration, and their role in transmitting, preserving, and introducing cultural heritage to new generations.
His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah also toured the accompanying exhibition, which highlights storytelling as a space for human connection and cultural exchange, and the shared values and experiences that bring peoples together. It also underscores the role of oral storytelling in building bridges of knowledge, dialogue, and understanding across cultures.
The Republic of Finland is the Guest of Honour of the 26th edition, presenting examples of its storytelling and cultural heritage, as well as its experience in preserving and documenting oral traditions. The Finnish epic “Kalevala” features prominently as one of the most notable symbols of Finnish storytelling heritage and as an example of a tradition that evolved from oral narration to written documentation and cultural preservation.
Through its successive editions, the Sharjah International Narrator Forum continues to strengthen storytelling’s presence as an integral part of cultural and human memory and as a platform for communication between peoples and cultures. It does so by bringing together narrators, researchers, and cultural institutions, and by presenting programmes and events that contribute to preserving, documenting, and keeping oral heritage alive and evolving.
The ceremony was attended alongside His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah by Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Statistics and Community Development; Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority; Jamal Salim Al Turaifi, President of Al Qasimia University; Dr Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage; Mohammed Obaid Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Protocol and Hospitality; and a number of senior officials, members of the diplomatic corps, cultural figures, and narrators.