The cultural heritage of narrative traditions from ancient Egypt, the Arab world and Germany is being explored in a new exhibition that begins in the UAE on Sunday.
Titled From Cinderella to Sindbad: German and Arab Timeless Tales, it is running as part of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2021, which will be hosted in-person and online in May and feature Germany as the guest of honour.
We are delighted to bring this exhibition from Berlin, Germany – the land of poets and thinkers – to our friends and partners in Abu Dhabi
The exhibition, which ends on Monday, September 20, is a collaborative effort between the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany Abu Dhabi, the Goethe-Institut and the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. It is taking place physically at the Cultural Foundation, but will also be made available online through a virtual gallery.
The exhibition is being presented in English and Arabic and is the result of a research project between the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection Berlin and the Arab-German Young Academy for Sciences and Humanities.
About 100 objects are included, including facsimiles, archival material, books and games, with some items on loan from institutions such as the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region and Kalima Project for Translation, which will showcase German titles translated into Arabic.
Ancient Egyptian papyruses, works by Arab poet Al Mutanabbi and German playwright and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe are also being explored, as well as the classic Arabian Nights stories and more contemporary pop-up books and comics.
"We are delighted to bring this exhibition from Berlin, Germany – the land of poets and thinkers – to our friends and partners in Abu Dhabi," said Peter Fischer, German Ambassador to the UAE. "This is a fun and interactive cultural exchange and visitors will be surprised by some of the connections between our cultures."
Fairy tales like 'Cinderella' or the tales of 'One Thousand and One Nights' entertain their readers with stories from far away cultural or geographical worlds
A programme is running alongside the exhibition, featuring a number of activities aimed at children and adults, such as Fairytales and Folktales We Share, which includes a weekly feature of an Arabic story, a German Brothers Grimm tale or a marionette show.
Children's workshops on cultivating writing and storytelling skills, as well as handcrafting marionette dolls and a theatre, are also taking place.
Hakawati, a monthly interactive workshop, meanwhile, allows children to hear folk tales about Sindbad, Cinderella, Sinuhe and other famous literary characters from Germany and the Arab world.
The programme also aims to address commonalities between storytelling traditions and techniques, as well as those that continue to inspire artists and authors across the world to this day.
Elsewhere, there is a dedicated section on children's books by Emirati authors that are based on local folk tales passed down the generations.
Professor Dr Verena Lepper from Berlin, the show's curator, said the exhibition is particularly aimed at children “and to show that the roots of modern Emirati storytelling traditions are very old, going back to antiquity, and are part of an international network".
Fareed Majari, director of the Goethe-Institut Abu Dhabi, said: "Fairy tales like Cinderella or the tales of One Thousand and One Nights entertain their readers with stories from far away cultural or geographical worlds that are both exotic and familiar.
"There is an innate common structure: the quest of the hero, the dangers they face and the battles they have to win, and, of course, the demise of the bad and the triumph of the good.
"This is why the books in this exhibition lend themselves to a discourse about what is culturally different and what is similar, including our common aspirations.”
The Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation is open Saturdays to Thursdays, 10am to 7pm and on Fridays from 2pm to 7pm. A range of Covid-19 precautions that follow government guidelines have been put in place to ensure the safety of visitors.
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
