SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)

This weekend, Emirati heritage will move beyond the exhibits at Zayed National Museum, brought to life through workshops, performances and guided experiences.

Much of the programme will centre on Emirati women, who appear throughout history as artisans, chefs, musicians and cultural practitioners.

Visitors can learn palm leaf weaving, known as khoos, alongside sadu textile crafting and Emirati culinary traditions. There is also a date-based cooking session with Chef Abeer Allouz, and live performances by Emirati women musicians.

One of the programme’s main offerings is the Women of the Nation tour, which runs every Thursday and Saturday until September 26, and explores the contributions of Emirati women across generations.

Their stories span from ancient history to the women who helped shape the UAE’s social, cultural and national development.

Speaking to Aletihad, Leqa Al Zaabi, Interpretation Unit Head at the museum, said: “The programme brings heritage into the present by moving beyond the traditional display of history to create opportunities for audiences to experience living cultural practices first-hand. This approach reflects the museum’s role in keeping heritage relevant and accessible.”

Al Zaabi said combining crafts, food, fragrance, music and storytelling was important because culture is experienced in many different ways.

“Heritage is not experienced through a single sense. It is shaped by the sounds, flavours, scents, skills and stories that are passed from one generation to the next.”

By allowing visitors to participate rather than simply observe, she said the programme makes that connection more personal.

“Visitors are invited to participate, listen, taste, create and engage with cultural practices through the people who continue to carry them forward today.”

Emirati women are central to that experience. Al Zaabi said they are not only preserving traditions, but also finding contemporary ways to reinterpret and share them.

“Emirati women have long played a central role in carrying cultural knowledge from one generation to the next.”

Today, that role continues through women working as chefs, artisans, musicians, storytellers and other cultural practitioners.

“Heritage is not static. It continues to evolve through the people who practise, reinterpret and pass it on today.”

There is a focus on making heritage relevant for younger visitors. “The programme creates a direct connection between younger generations and Emirati heritage by moving beyond observation and inviting them to experience culture through participation,” said Al Zaabi.

Through workshops, food, fragrance and live music, young people can interact directly with cultural traditions. “This approach helps make cultural knowledge more accessible and meaningful, while encouraging a sense of connection, pride and ownership among the next generation.

“We hope that visitors experience culture the way it was actually lived, through sight, sound, smell and taste.” Al Zaabi said she hopes visitors leave with a broader understanding of how deeply heritage remains connected to everyday life.

She also pointed to the long history of women’s influence in the region, from ancient female figures to some of the UAE’s most prominent women.

“Female empowerment is deeply rooted in our history, from ancient women leaders recorded on 2,000-year-old Abiel coins to 20th-century pillars like Sheikha Salama bint Butti Al Qubaisi and Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.”

That story is explored further in the Women of the Nation tour. It begins thousands of years ago, with an ancient woman buried on Marawah Island around 8,000 years ago with objects indicating her status, as well as female monarchs recorded on ancient Abiel coins.

The tour then moves on to more contemporary history, exploring Sheikha Salama bint Butti Al Qubaisi and the influence of her values and resilience on her son, the UAE’s Founding Father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

It also highlights the role of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Mother of the Nation, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and her contributions to women’s education, healthcare and national development.

Other stories include poet Salma bint Al Majidi bin Dhahir and generations of women who supported coastal and desert communities through pearl diving activities, sadu weaving, khoos crafts and traditional medicine.

It highlights Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak’s al-Barwa directives, which guaranteed medical treatment for women and families at Oasis (Kanad) Hospital.

“The tour traces an unbroken progression of Emirati female leadership, demonstrating how historical roles within the home, local governance and traditional economies have evolved into modern public leadership,” Al Zaabi said.

It also examines women’s growing role in education and leadership, with women accounting for 77% of university attendance, two-thirds of government employees, and 30% of leadership roles.