Agenda and Speakers

Day 1 | 24th November, Sunday

08:20 AM
10:00 AM
REGISTRATION
10:00 AM
FORUM BEGINS
10:25 AM
11:30 AM
Session 1: Representations of Arabia in Western Travellers’ Writing (Objectives, Visions, and Results)

An inclusive investigative overview: objectives, visions, and outcome

Speakers
His Excellency Dr. Fahd Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Semmari
HE Dr. Fahd Abdullah Al Semmari, Advisor at Royal Court, Secretary-General of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah)
Moderator
Chantal Saliba Abikhalil
Sky News Arabia
11:50 AM
12:20 PM
Session 2: The Journey and Cultural Exchange between East and West

Speakers
Dr. Mojeb Al-Zahrani
The General Director of the Arab World Institute in Paris
Dr. Dheya Al Kaabi
Professor of Literary Criticism and Narratives, University of Bahrain
David Wagner
German Author and Writer
Moderator
Dr. Ahmed Al Mansoori
Head of Communication and Assistant Professor, UAE University
Session Themes:

The session will discuss the distinct differences between literary and cognitive discourse in nomadic writings from the Arabian Peninsula. It also presents colonial narratives in the literature of nomadic travellers and will discuss the role of the translated novel as transnational cultural literary material.

12:30 PM
02:00 PM
LUNCH BREAK
02:00 PM
03:05 PM
Session 3: Methodology Used to Study the Literature of Journeys to the Orient and Arabia

Speakers
Dr. Dionisius A. Agius
Fellow of the British Academy Emeritus Professor of Arabic and Islamic Material Culture at University of Exeter
Saad Abdullah Sowayan
General Manager of the documentary project king ABDULAZIZ: HIS BIOGRAPHY AND REIGN IN FOREIGN DOCUMENTS
Stanislaw Strasburger
Writer and Publisher, Poland
Moderator
Loolwa Almansoori
Researcher and Writer, UAE
Session Themes:

This session will look at the differences of literary and cognitive discourses in the documented journeys of travellers and will discuss the role of the translated novel as a transnational cultural literary material.

03:05 PM
04:30 PM
Session 4: Fostering Peaceful Dialogue and Cultural Exchange Between East and West to Promote A Culture of Tolerance and Acceptance

Speakers
Issam Al Hajjar
Syrian researcher specialized in documenting the natural and cultural heritage
Dr. Shirin Ibish
Professor and lecturer in the history of Italian and Islamic art
Dr. Karin Pütt
Heritage Archive Project, German Museum of Islamic Art
Moderator
Yaser Al Neyadi
Emirati Filmmaker
Session Themes:

The session will discuss the role of travel in establishing tolerance and human connection among different cultures as well as travel and cultural exchange to the Arabian Peninsula. The session will also present a model of cognitive travels.

04:45 PM
DAY 1 FORUM ENDS

Day 2 | 25th November, Monday

10:00 AM
FORUM BEGINS
10:05 AM
11:10 AM
Session 5: A Comparison of the Heritage of Western Travellers and Arab Travellers

Speakers
Dr. Saad Albazei
Saudi Arabian Critic and Researcher
Dr. Hamad Bin Seray
UAE Professor and Lecturer in UAE University
Deborah Morgan Jones
Professor and Author
Moderator
Dr. Mohamed Ouhaibi
Academy Member at the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts
Session Themes:

This session will discuss the literary implications of journeys to the Orient, how the Arab Traveller saw the West, and how the Arabian Peninsula influenced the interests of Western Travellers.

11:25 AM
12:30 PM
Session 6: The Orient Pioneers Project: Ideas and Ambitions

Speakers
Dr. Ahmed Ibeche
Syrian Historian and Researcher
Inna Savinykh
Russian Researcher
Moderator
Fatima Al Ward
Abu Dhabi TV
Session Themes:

This session will discuss Orientalism through the lens of traveller literature and will present the different experiences of the Orient Pioneers during their journeys.

12:35 PM
02:05 PM
LUNCH BREAK
02:10 PM
03:15 PM
Session 7: Representations of Women Travellers in the Arabian Peninsula

Speakers
Frauke Heard
German Historian and Researcher
Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh
Emirati Researcher and Writer
Dr. Kaoru Yamamoto
Japanese Translator and Researcher
Moderator
Al Hanouf Mohammad
Emirati Writer
Session Themes:

This session will discuss the role of US women missionaries to the UAE as well as the experiences of Japanese travellers in the Middle East.

03:35 PM
04:40 PM
Session 8: Presentation of Personal Journeys

Speakers
Zaid Al Refai
First Arab to climb Mount Everest, Kuwait
Nouri Al Jarrah
Arabic Centre for Geographic Literature – Exploring the Horizons, Syria
Eros Baldissera
Italian Researcher and Traveller
Moderator
Dr. Hana Subhi
Lecturer at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
Session Themes:

The session will discuss personal experiences of Arab and western travellers, including the first Arab to climb Mount Everest, an Italian cultural traveller in the Arab world from Iraq to Morocco, as well as successful efforts to documenting the Exploring the Horizons project.

04:50 PM
DAY 2 FORUM ENDS