complexity especially in social problems I have no idea trying to figure it out ourselves yeah I you know in the UAE and the Emirates we're very lucky because we have a very small population that uh you know for for one reason or another we we got onto the to the right track with uh when we first um struck oil um and so that allowed us to to to move in a
And so it was lot of work with Dubai Prison. The Emirates Literature Foundation has successfully been able to do that. So they came in November and went into the prison and did this.
Yet, I feel proud that there's this achievement of-- and a united Arab Emirates is not because of just the Emirati. It's because of the Emirati accepting the other, because of the Emirati working with the others, because the Emirati helping other companies to set up and take it to the next level.
But also, we want to stimulate the cultural scene in the UAE. Each emirate has it's niche, in a way, from an archeology, from performance, from filming, from theater.
where she conducted fact-finding investigations and advocacy in relation to Iran, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to working internationally, she campaigned extensively for social and economic justice in the United States for the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Urban Justice Center, and is a co-founding collective member of Bluestockings bookstore.
It was founded by Isobel Abulhoul, who moved here from the UK in 1968. She married an Emirati man. Her children are Emirati.
She married an Emirati man. Her children are Emirati. She opened Magrudy, which is our favorite bookshop growing up and probably the only one at the time.
So there's a stewardess who gets pregnant out of wedlock. There is an Emirati man who loses-- I can't remember if it's a brother or a best friend? Best friend. His best friend and develops a drinking problem.
Best friend. His best friend and develops a drinking problem. So you see an Emirati drinking. These are very, very strong themes to tackle long ago.
And I got a call two weeks later. A lot of Emiratis will go see their films.
Start-ups can market a lot more efficiently using Google. Do you have Emirates drivers?
Start-ups can market a lot more efficiently using Google. So in the Emirates, I would say all our captains are ex-pat captains.
Think about mergers between stock exchanges, think about nonstop flights connecting any two cities in the world. It seems like Emirates Airlines wants you to be able to fly around the world nonstop. They're flying now to Panama City, to Auckland, New Zealand, pretty soon the Sydney.
Sure. I mean, I've never been to the Middle East before. And the United Arab Emirates are right there on the Arabian Peninsula, right next to Saudi Arabia. I thought, this will be super cool.
And finally, I'm in the Emirates. And the United Arab Emirates, as you know, have a little money. And this is the Emirates Palace in Dubai, which at the time, was the most expensive hotel in the world.
And the United Arab Emirates, as you know, have a little money. And this is the Emirates Palace in Dubai, which at the time, was the most expensive hotel in the world. $3 billion luxury accommodation.
The triumphalist entrance gate, that's this little building right here. That's the Emirates Palace, which actually has as much floor space as the Pentagon. There's a kilometer of private beach and they have-- it was insane.
You don't see the rich and poor. But in the Emirates, it's right there. This is a couple days later.
But to my dismay, the demands of the solar cells did not stop there. The United Arab Emirates recently conducted one of the largest cross-comparison tests of solar technologies to date. And they did so because they were building this eco-metropolis called Masdar City.
name it have set up pretty sizable presence in campus campuses in uh in in uh in Doha and Qatar and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates very much welcomed by the host governments because through that process you are educating uh the next generation of these countries it is having impact on women's rights it is having impact on political Norms in these countries and it's being
It's really good to be here with all of you. I'm here to talk about the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. Hands up if you've been to the festival.
And I got to spend a lot of time with him and his family. So we're very proud of our Emirates astronaut.
across the world. I have the immense pleasure this afternoon here in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to welcome her Excellency, Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development for the United Arab Emirates. Thank you. Thank you, Selim.
I grew up in a school where more than 50% of my classmates were from Arabic countries. And my accent or dialect wasn't Emirati. So when I was done from my elementary school to high school, my high school had more percentage of Emiratis than Arabs, because of the neighborhood.
And it's a continuation of what we're doing in the way we do business, in the way we are in the restaurants, and the way we are in schools. It happens to be part of our Emirati identity, that we welcome different nationalities and we live with different nationalities.
And what that means is that people are trafficked into Uganda, through Uganda, and Ugandans are trafficked from Uganda all over the world-- far off places like the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Malaysia, and China. So it's a huge issue.
Then we had the Western characters, the Western storyline, which was in English. And then you had the Emirati storyline, which quite a lot, actually, was based on events that happened in my life, which was spoken in Arabic.
And I got a call two weeks later. That film became the first Emirati film to be the opening-night film at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival,
And I got a call two weeks later. "City of Life" was the first Emirati film to have a gala on the red carpet.
And I got a call two weeks later. It used to be one Emirati film every two years.
And there's this big line of people. And they're wearing traditional Emirati clothing, which means for the women, they wear the hi-jab, which is the head scarf that leaves the face open, the black one. And they were wearing the black dress.
It's not because they have better aircraft. That airbus can be purchased by Emirates and Cathay Pacific and British Airways. It's not because they use better airports or better travel agents, or even a better website.
These are, umm, star dunes in Yemen. Very hard driving up there. And this is in the Emirates. There is a little -- this little city right there, it's a medieval fort.
And after weeks of going back through the entire meeting, this struggle brought me to a point where I said, I don't think he's what he's telling us. I don't think he's an al-Qaeda emir . I don't even think he's in al-Qaeda at all, never mind being the leader of a cell group.
Qataris, by the Emirates, by the Saudis, not Trump's problem.
It'll be a partnership with the Saudis and the Emiratis.
And we had this mixed team composed of French and Emirati and of course, people from all over the world, as you have in Abu Dhabi.
Which it is Dubai and the United Arab Emirates in the world today.
And then, looking at even the way the companies are here in the UAE. I don't mind if my boss was not Emirati. I don't mind working with a non-Emirati.
I don't mind if my boss was not Emirati. I don't mind working with a non-Emirati. We would rather learn and thrive and do our best.
Yes, I fly Emirates. There is Wi-Fi connection.
Definitely, in the Emirates, we don't live in that landscape.
And I got a call two weeks later. But after the fact, Emirates were very supportive and saw that it was something that was important.
Start-ups can market a lot more efficiently using Google. We have one friend, Emirates pilot, who drove for a day to show that this is actually something great.
And he has been under surveillance by the United Arab Emirates government for years.
awful um sorry you had a question there I'm sure no just just what what's being done I mean uh what very um well I mean the Emirates has a has a project um it's last year was the year of reading and it was interesting because they're promoting the idea of reading and there's all kinds of support for for kids in particular particular but there
was interesting because they're promoting the idea of reading and there's all kinds of support for for kids in particular particular but there was also a program right across the Arab world that the Emirates um established where they would try to encourage kids there was a kind of competitive thing where they would encourage them to read I think 50 books a year um and there was I don't know I can't remember how
could certainly organize greater greater events like that but then the other thing is you know what are you going to read yeah and that's that's another problem that we have and so again the Emirates has a translation uh program um it's they translate about a 100 books a year it's a whole bunch of different kind of subjects everything from Spinosa to you know uh uh face reading and stuff
just the creation of Technology but more of the the the kind of the philosophical ramifications of of Technology um and you know we we do have uh initiatives again in the Emirates um where you know we've got these Rob robotic competitions and drone competitions and we've got you know the New York University with its mathematics and computer science departments but how are we looking at
I had no idea where Sharjah was when they wrote me and said, hey, would you like to come to our book festival. Turns out Sharjah is one of the United Arab Emirates. So you've heard of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, most likely.