March 13, 2019,

The American University of Ras Al Khaimah’s Professor of English, Arabic, and Translation Studies of the Languages and Literature Department, Professor Kamal Abdel-Malek, arranged a student excursion to the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature in Dubai to promote literacy among AURAK students.

“Reading is known to expand our horizons and transport us to new places. But the most important place it can take us is into another person’s shoes, letting us walk their path, allowing us to see the world through their eyes. This makes literature the most powerful art form imaginable.” -Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

The 11^th Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, United by Words, was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Festival City of Dubai under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and in partnership with Emirates Airline and the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

AURAK students attended two sessions: a special, private workshop with Shahad Al Rawi, an Iraqi writer, currently studying for a PhD in Anthropology and Administration and living in Dubai. Baghdad Clock, her first novel, was published in 2016 by Dar Al-Hikma and shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction 2018. Al Rawi won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s First Book Award, after being chosen from a shortlist of 49. The second session students and faculty members, Professor Kamal, Professor Steven Zani, Associate Provost, Dr. Denise Gifford, Dr. Saif Rayyan, and Mr. Omar Chami, attended was a public interview with author Aziz Muhammad.

Professor Kamel was overjoyed with the experiences he was able to afford to his students, “This has been a great learning experience for our AURAK students. We need to have more of these events in order to foster the love of reading and to fire the imagination of our young learners at AURAK.”