SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)

With the Sheikh Zayed Festival drawing thousands of visitors, the event has become a major platform for national institutions, allowing them to enhance their cultural offerings and expand the reach of their missions - whether it be promoting innovation in agriculture or preserving heritage.

Running until March 22, 2026, the festival offers cultural, educational, and entertainment experiences for all communities. 

Agricultual Excellence

For the team behind the Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award, it is an opportunity to highlight efforts that support the agricultural community, promote sustainability, and encourage innovation across farming and livestock production.

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) is inviting farmers to showcase their best harvests - particularly dates - along with their sustainable agri-practices.

“Farmers should make the most of these opportunities, participate, and benefit from the guidance and platforms made available to them,” Ahmed Al Kaabi, Head of the Plant Agricultural Festival Team at ADAFSA, told Aletihad.

Through its dedicated pavilion for the Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Agricultural Excellence Award, ADAFSA presents winning projects, innovative farming techniques, and community-based food security initiatives.

As it honours outstanding contributors in the current award cycle, the pavilion also aims to inspire thefarming community to adopt sustainable practices, embrace innovation, and strive for excellence in their own fields.

This year’s edition of the award saw strong participation and notable improvements in product quality, reflecting farmers’ continuous efforts to develop their produce, Al Kaabi said.

ADAFSA is also organising several competitions for farmers and productive families, primarily focusing on high-quality dates and value-added date products.

“By value-added dates, we mean that dates can be processed and reused - turned into date syrup, date coffee, and many other products that we can benefit from today,” Al Kaabi explained.

This practice of transforming dates into new products has been gaining momentum, supporting sustainability while integrating the national fruit into emerging industries, he added.

Documenting Heritage

Another institution benefiting from the Sheikh Zayed Festival’s reach is the National Library and Archives (NLA), which has set up the “Memory of the Nation” pavilion along with an oral history booth.

At the pavilion, the NLA conducts interviews with senior citizens, capturing their recollections of life in the UAE. These conversations contribute to national publications, including the NLA’s  “Their Memory, Our History” series.

“Oral history helps document historical events that were never written down,” said Shareena Alqubaisi, Head of the Oral History Unit at the NLA.

Interviewees are usually identified through nominations, with recordings conducted at their homes or workplaces.

Alqubaisi described the festival as a “unique” gathering point.

“This place attracts people who lived alongside UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. We seize this opportunity to meet them and record their memories,” she said.