Dubai Airports will be a major supporter and participant at the upcoming Emirates Festival of Literature 2012, by continuing its sponsorship of the event’s Emirati Strand for the second consecutive year.

Two of the company’s employees – an author on regional aviation history and a kandura-clad hip-hop artiste -- will participate at the festival.

Ghassan Amhaz, a veteran Arabic journalist and a media relations manager at Dubai Airports, whose Arabic book on the history of aviation in Dubai “From the Creek to the Skies” was launched at the Dubai Airshow 2011, will deliver a discourse titled “The Open Skies of Dubai: Why Aviation has played a crucial role in Dubai’s Growth” on the penultimate day of the festival.

Earlier in the event, Amhaz will also join Arabic authors Abdul Aziz Al Mahmoud and Ahmed Mourad in a panel discussion titled “Can Arab world authors make a decent living as writers” on the challenges faced by writers in the region.

Participating at the festival for the second year in a row, Salim Dahman, better known to fans of his music as Ilmiyah – the lead singer of the Emirati hip-hop band Desert Heat, will – along with his partner and brother Arab Leak – enlighten listeners at a session on ‘An Arabian Hip-Hop Revolution’.

The duo will add a touch of bling to the festival later with a performance that will demonstrate the evolution hip-hop music has undergone in the region.

Opening on March 6, the five-day festival will feature more than 115 authors – including award-winning English and Arabic writers, poets and journalists from over 25 countries.

Jamal Al-Hai, executive senior vice president, communications and international affairs, described Dubai Airports’ association with the festival as a progression of the company’s commitment to promoting global cultural understanding through literature, as well as its efforts to highlight the Emirati culture by enabling exposure for budding and established UAE national authors."

The Emirati Strand this year will feature some of UAE’s most celebrated writers, including Abdulaziz Al Musallam, known as “the fairy tale man”, because of his storytelling skills as well as writer and editor-in-chief of Al Bayan, Dha’en Shaheen. Also making an appearance will be well-known poets Khalid Albudoor and Nujoom Al Ghanem. - TradeArabia News Service