The Emirates Airline International Festival of Literature (EAIFL), the region’s first literary festival, has launched a creative writing competition that is open to both English and Arabic writing students under 16.

The competition has been developed to add another dimension to the festival and form an exciting and inclusive part of EAIFL’s ‘Education Day’. The theme for the competition is ‘The Sea’ in recognition of the Middle East’s affinity with boats, pearling, fishing and trade.

“The Arab world has a history steeped in literature, especially poetry. We want to foster and recognise both Arabic and English written talent and we are holding the first event in the region to promote this in an international context,' explained Isobel Abulhoul, director of EAIFL and Magrudy’s.

“One of the most important aspects of EAIFL is to celebrate literature and to make the festival as inclusive as possible. One of the primary goals of EAIFL is to highlight the importance of literacy and to join with the many initiatives that are in place to boost literacy within the Arab world.” 

“The winning entries will be published as a collection of works, which will be signed by some of the most prominent authors attending the festival,” said Abulhoul. Authors confirmed to attend the event include Wilbur Smith, Kate Adie, Khaled Alkhamissi and Frank McCourt.

EAIFL is the first literary festival ever to offer a dedicated ‘Education Day’. The final day will focus on promoting the development of literary understanding through workshops, readings and seminars.

EAIFL will take place between February 26 and March 1 2009, at Dubai Festival City. There will also be a series of fringe events around the city organised by local schools, universities and social clubs.

According to Unesco 40 per cent of adults in the Arab region today are illiterate. Projections show that if current efforts continue, 28 per cent of the region’s population will still be illiterate in 2015.-TradeArabia News Service