Abu Dhabi, Aug. 8 (BNA): The future of falconry will be the focus of a conference to be hosted next month by the Abu Dhabi International Hunting & Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX).
The conference and its series of specialized workshops celebrate the passage of more than 10 years since falconry received the most significant global recognition of its legitimacy and cultural richness following its registration in the November 2010 Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The conference, held in cooperation with UNESCO, is organized by the Emirates Falconers’ Club and The International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey (IAF) that includes 110 falconry clubs and institutions representing 90 countries, with a total of more than 75,000 falconers around the world.
The 18th edition of ADIHEX, to be held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler’s representative in Al Dhafra region and Chairman of the Emirates Falconers’ Club, on September 27- October 3, is organized by the Emirates Falconers Club under the slogan “Sustainability and Heritage… A Reborn Aspiration”.
ADIHEX Higher Organizing Committee Chairman, Emirates Falconers’ Club Secretary-General and IAF President Majid Ali Al Mansouri stressed that the informational workshops that make up the conference represent an important step to enhance the capabilities of the countries participating in the falconry registration file at UNESCO, as well as all falconry societies around the world.
He pointed out that the common cultural heritage enhances understanding and peace among people and helps them achieve sustainable development while ensuring the transfer of knowledge, skills and values from one generation to another, in line with the effective UAE policy in spreading the culture of peace, tolerance and the value of coexistence.
The UAE is one of the IAF first members through the membership of the Emirates Falconers’ Club.
In appreciation of its significant and effective role in preserving human heritage and sustainable hunting, which in turn led to the most important achievements in the history of falconry by registering it in UNESCO and granting it the legality of practice, the founder of the Emirates Falconers Club, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was chosen as Honorary President of IAF in 2017.
IAF CEO Gary Timbrell said that the association has been attending ADIHEX since 2004, and witnessed remarkable development and broad growth over the past years.
He pointed out that during the same period, IAF also developed to include the membership of 90 countries in 2021, compared to 35 countries in 2004.
Timbrell attributed this success mainly to the keenness of the association’s permanent presence in ADIHEX with the encouragement of the Emirates Falconers Club.
On many occasions during the past editions, ADIHEX has been a center for the annual meetings of IAF, as is the case in the next edition (ADIHEX2021). Over the years, the exhibition has hosted many successful conferences about falconry and ways to preserve it, which directly helped us contribute to the consolidation of the pioneering initiatives of the United Arab Emirates, foremost of which is the registration of falconry in UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, he said.
Timbrell added that IAF officials and volunteers from 20 countries, will oversee the dialogue platforms and run specialized workshops, including: “Women in Falconry”, “How to benefit from the means of communication”, “Protecting Falconry in North Africa (Al Maghreb)” and “Protecting Falconry in the Levant (Bilad El- Cham).”
The workshop outcomes will be linked in a final seminar, “The Future of Falconry”, through which those interested in participating in the exhibition will be encouraged to take an important and effective role in this regard.
In 2018, Al Mansouri was elected IAF President at the general assembly held in Bamberg, Germany. He had been elected to the position of Vice President of the Association for the Middle East and North Africa in 2015. The Emirates Falconers’ Club, founded in 2001, joined the association in 2003.
Eleven countries participated in the procedures for registering falconry at UNESCO from 2006 to 2010 and preparing the joint file under the supervision of the UAE, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Korea, Morocco, Spain, Syria, Qatar, and Mongolia. Austria and Hungary joined in 2012 and Portugal, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan in 2016. In 2019, Poland, Croatia, Netherlands, and Slovakia requested to join the registration process. The number of countries participating in the falconry file has doubled in 10 years to 22 and more countries are expected to join in the coming years.
Since 2005, the UAE has been exerting persistent international efforts to make the registration process successful, thanks to the concerted endeavors of many authorities and institutions concerned with heritage and culture, mainly the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism and the Emirates Falconers’ Club.
Source: Bahrain News Agency