Sharjah Museums considered as One of the most important museums that describes the Arabs and Islamic heritage, below shows the interest of the European media delegation to Sharjah Museums, also talk about the cleanup campaign that held.
Motaz Othman
Islamic Tourism
Sharjah Museums Department (SMD), in co-operation with National Media Council in Abu Dhabi, hosted a media delegation from Europe focused on visiting cultural institutions and tourist attractions in the UAE. The visit comes in line with SMD’s commitment to highlight the importance of the museums as a vital base for cultural exchange and means to enrich Sharjah’s cultural experience.
The visiting delegation included prominent journalists inform different places in Europe such as France, Germany, Italy, and Ireland. They are representatives of some of the most renowned magazines and newspapers and share a common interest to identify the cultural diversity of the UAE, in general, and Sharjah, in particular.
The delegation’s visit to Sharjah included a tour of museums in the heritage area such as Bait Al-Naboodah, which is a unique example of the traditional Emirati house that preserves societal values; and Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, which includes Islamic artefacts since the advent of Islam up until today. The visitors also viewed the renowned orientalist collection, as well as the contemporary Arab art collection in Sharjah Art Museum. At Sharjah Aquarium, they learned about the marine environment of the UAE with its marine species, and fish such as clownfish, seahorses, eels, rays, and reef sharks.
The group expressed their admiration for the tourist landmarks that bring together the past and the present in the capital of Arabic culture. They assured to convey the fascinating image of Sharjah to their respective countries and communities.
Sharjah Museums Department holds Al Khan Beach Cleanup campaign
o Aimed at increasing public awareness and appreciation of the coastal environment of Sharjah o More than 1000 volunteers take part in day-long campaign
Building on ‘Because We Care,’ the new initiative of Sharjah Museums Department (SMD), Sharjah Aquarium and Sharjah Maritime Museum successfully held the Al Khan Beach Cleanup campaign covering the beach as well as seabed cleaning. More than 1000 volunteers including members of government establishments and non-governmental organizations participated in the event.
Manal Ataya, Director General, Sharjah Museums Department (SMD), said: “The cleanup campaign further builds on the popularity of Sharjah Aquarium and Sharjah Maritime Museum and the phenomenal interest of the public in marine life. In less than one year, we have hosted more than one million visitors, and we make concerted efforts to underscore the importance of protecting the marine environment. The campaign highlights how every member in the society can play a role in protecting the environment.”
“It’s excellent to see how interested and enthusiastic people are making a difference. Data on the rubbish collected will be submitted to Ocean Conservancy, which analyses and publishes data every year in more than 80 countries. This helps scientists, the public and decision makers to understand the various aspects of marine pollution and thus implement and improve regulations to manage it,” said Kerwin Porter, Curator of Sharjah Aquarium.
Khawla Almuhrizi, Curator of Sharjah Maritime Museum, said: “The cleanup campaign is in line with Sharjah Museums Department’s objective of enhancing awareness on the importance of a clean environment and engaging the public to actively participate in cleaning up the surroundings. It also strengthens awareness and the appreciation of Sharjah’s coastal environments as our marine ecosystem is the largest, has the greatest bio-diversity and is the most bio-productive.”
The event included recycling and drawing workshops for children, and families that collected unusual pieces of rubbish or the most rubbish were rewarded.
Khaled Al Huraimel, General Manager of Bee’ah, the Sharjah Environment Company, said: “Bee’ah is proud to be the main sponsor of this important event and to partner with Sharjah Aquarium and Sharjah Maritime Museum to look after our environment. The Al Khan beach is an area of outstanding natural beauty and it is vital that we keep it clean and free from litter, not just for ourselves but also for the abundance of wildlife our coast supports. It is heartwarming to see the people’s enthusiasm for this beach clean-up and Bee’ah is committed to giving every assistance and opportunity to those wishing to help make Sharjah a cleaner and healthier place to work and live.”
A representative from Sharjah Museums Department honoured Bee’ah, the main sponsor of the campaign, and other sponsors such as Sharjah Municipality, Sharjah Co-Op, Sharjah Television, Sharjah Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Masafi and Sammach.
|