Today's Edition
AMEINAH ALZEYOUDI (ABU DHABI)
At a time when online content streams endlessly across screens, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) is working to keep the digital-first generation connected to their roots. In a new research project, the centre aims to introduce them to one of the UAE's most distinctive forms of cultural expression: Al Razeef.
Al Razeef, a performance of Nabati poetry chanted during social occasions, has been chosen as the focus of ALC's first initiative in a series of documentation projects developed under the Kanz Al Jeel Award.
Inspired by the poetry of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the award celebrates outstanding works of Nabati poetry in an effort to revive the heritage and authentic values embedded in the artform, and to promote folk studies and related research.
In a statement to Aletihad, ALC said the documentation project resonates with its vision to "enrich the UAE's national identity with authentic linguistic components, firmly reinforcing its presence in society, especially among younger generations".
The project follows the centre's approach of communicating Emirati and Arab heritage to younger generations in their "preferred format", offering digital references and advanced, high-tech platforms.
This approach extends to a wider push to modernise how the ALC preserves and shares Arabic heritage. Initiatives such as the Poetic AI Lab use AI tools to help students and teachers explore poetry, while the Digital Arabic Library, developed with Amazon, has digitised classical and contemporary Arabic works into thousands of e-books and audiobooks.
Two other ALC projects, the Poetic Encyclopaedia and the Digital Lexicon, have been integrated with voice-assistant technology through a partnership with Amazon Alexa.
The Tradition, Explained
Al Razeef combines performances honouring bravery, chivalry, unity, and pride with improvised poetry recited in the local dialect, the centre explained. Its inclusion on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2015 affirmed its global significance.
Under its new mission, the ALC team will comb through the emirates in search of performers and practitioners of the artform.
"They will document the specific performance styles seen across the country, record the methods of reciting and chanting its poetry, document the names of prominent figures associated with it, and accurately record their oral narratives to create a reliable scientific and knowledge document," the centre said.
To ensure authenticity and maintain a scientific lens, field observations will be combined with interviews with performers across the UAE.
The research team will be supervised by academic researcher Dr Hamad bin Seray, alongside experts Ali Al Mughni, Jamee bin Salem Al Dhanhani, and Saif bin Obaid bin Huwaishal.
From the UAE to the World
By moving beyond mere preservation into systematic, scientific documentation, the project serves as a tool to strengthen the Emirati cultural presence on the international stage, the ALC said: "The centre aims to present the traditional art form of Al Razeef to the world as an established cultural asset and a living part of shared human heritage."
The resulting research will eventually be turned into a reference book, expected for release in the second half of 2027.
"It will create a scientific document that safeguards the value and authenticity of Al Razeef, reinforce its role as a symbol of Emirati identity, and serve as a perpetual source of knowledge and inspiration for cultural institutions and future generations," the ALC said.
