Tag Archives: education
Sashaying down the catwalk at Armani Pavilion, vertically
Sashaying down the catwalk at Armani Pavilion, vertically Dhanusha Gokulan / 22 January 2014 The first vertical catwalk, as part of the DSF, was held when Etoile’s La Boutique unveiled their spring/ summer 2014 collections amid a crowd of fashion bloggers, socialites and members of the media. A blend of fashion and innovative ideas … models at the Vertical Catwalk at Burj Khalifa. —KT photos by Rahul Gajjar When you hear of an event such as the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) ‘Vertical Catwalk’ at the Armani Pavilion, Burj Khalifa, the image that comes to you would be of models sashaying down the tallest building in the world in designer outfits. The special, invite-only event did not necessarily disappoint. There was a fashion show, there were spring/summer designer outfits, and it had acrobats performing acts 30 metres above the ground. Not necessarily in the same order. The first vertical catwalk, as part of the month-long festivities of the DSF took place on Monday, January 20 when Etoile’s La Boutique unveiled their spring/ summer 2014 collections amid a crowd of fashion bloggers, socialites and members of the media at the Armani Pavilion, located at the base of the Burj Khalifa. Though several of the attendees expected the models to catwalk on the runway after descending from the building, the simultaneous display of fashion and acrobatics was indeed interesting. Strung on harnesses, men and women in silver and gold cat-suits descended over the building walking, spinning, and dancing to catchy tunes. “The trick is to tilt the runway by 90 degrees in the vertical direction and sometimes, we get the aerial dancers to wear the designer clothing and walk, but here however, we decided to have a normal fashion show and a vertical dance,” said Suhaila Gobash, Director of Festival and Events, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment. Organised by a German entertainment company that specialises in aerial acrobatics, eh showbox is not new to high-rises and walking on glass buildings with the support of harnesses. Etienne Herr, Founder and CEO of eh showbox, said they are not new to the UAE, and they have performed in Abu Dhabi in 2010. A total of six acrobats and 10 models performed at the event. “This is our first time in Dubai and working on the project was fun. It wasn’t extremely challenging for us because the standard climb height is about 20 to 30 meters,” said Etienne in an interview with Khaleej Times. Apart from vertical fashion shows, the company also performs vertical sports like football, tennis and several other dance routines. Herr who was eyeing the Burj Khalifa said: “Performing over this building would be the real challenge for us.” Gobash added: “The idea started after the success of the Metro fashion Show last year and we decided to do something path-breaking and different this year. We wanted a sort of ‘fashion landmark’ in Dubai and involve the many retailers who’ve always supported the festival. After several brain-storming sessions, we put them together to create a blend of fashion, Dubai, and innovative ideas.” When asked about future plans Gobash said that the department has a reached a certain height of success with this event today and, “we will have to go back to the office and think what next.” The company, eh showbox, will be performing outside the Dubai Mall till January 26. The timings are 6.15, 7.45, and 9.45 pm. dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men
UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men Staff Reporter / 22 January 2014 State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court orders the convicts to be jailed for terms ranging from three months to five years. Thirty people accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and charged with setting up a branch of the organisation in the UAE, were sentenced by the State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court to jail terms ranging from three months to five years. The verdicts were issued in the presence of 24 accused. Six others were sentenced in absentia. Fair trial, says human rights association In a statement, the Emirates Human Rights Association said it had followed up the trials of 20 Egyptians and 10 Emiratis, who were allegedly involved in the Egyptian Muslims brotherhood cell, at the Supreme Federal court in Abu Dhabi. “The prosecutions were held in a transparent, clear and open aura,” the statement said, noting that the defendants, throughout the trial, were defending themselves and through lawyers. The trial was attended by representatives from Egypt’s embassy and Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. In reply to a question on the arrest and torture, Jameela Al Hamili, member of the board of directors of the association said the procedures of arrest are legal, and no complaint on torture was sent. news@khaleejtimes.com Earlier, the court heard statements from the accused, the defence team and witnesses and reviewed the reports of experts. The court also ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood in the UAE, closure of all its offices, as well as confiscation of seized equipment. It also ordered the deportation of the foreign national accused after completion of their jail terms. According to a copy of the verdict which has been obtained by Khaleej Times , Medhat Rajab Abdellah Ammar was sentenced to five years in jail, while Saleh Faraj Daifallah Al Malhatani, Salah Mohammed Rizq Al Mashad, Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim Ahmed, Murad Mohammed Hamid Othman Badawi, Othman Abdel Rahman Suliman Matkees, Al Sayyid Awaad Hifni Moussa, Hamada Abdel Aziz Abdel Maqsood and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairti were each sentenced to four years in prison. Ahmed Mahmoud Taha was acquitted of the charges. Ahmed Labeeb Jaffar , Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait, Ali Saeed Al Ghandi, Rashid Omran Al Shamsi, Mohammed Ali Saleh Al Mansour, Tariq Ibrahim Abdel Rahim Al Qasim and Hussein Ali Abdullah Al Najjar were ordered to serve a year in prison. Ahmed Rashid Al Taboor Al Nuaimi, Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairi each received three months, while another defendant Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait was let off with a fine of Dh3,000. The foreign nationals accused in the plan are to be deported after serving out their jail terms. The sitting judge, in his ruling said: “Inspired by the rules of the Islamic Shariah, and guided by the principles of the law, the court has given the defendants to prove their innocene and has conducted the trial with utmost transparency as per the UAE constitution and international conventions.” “This court had issued its verdict studying the documents and results of investigations, as well listening to the statements of the defendants,” the judge said. The Public Prosecution stressed that the accused intended to set up a branch affiliated to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. “They structured the organisation and set up a general administrative centre under which there are central committees and offices, which are located all over the country.” The Muslim Brotherhood members collected monthly subscription fee, the prosecution told the court. Their actions posed a threat to state security, the prosecution said, and added that their investigation was held in a fair manner. Defence lawyers, meanwhile, challenged the role of the investigators and alleged the evidence gathered did not prove any wrongdoing. “The charges against the accused have been cooked up, and charges of theft are not true because there is no tangible evidence,” the defence lawyers told the court. — news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Carpet and Art Oasis: Weaving their own future
Carpet and Art Oasis: Weaving their own future Sudeshna Sarkar & Ishtiaq Ali Mehkri / 21 January 2014 While Persian carpets enjoy a walkover in the industry, now new dark horses are coming up IT’S THE end of Saturday evening and exhausted festival-goers are leaving in their cars, giving the Carpet and Art Oasis a deserted look. The sprawling pavilion looks like something straight out of Arabian Nights . Everywhere there are carpets, rugs, tapestries and more carpets, in diverse colours and designs, on the floor, the walls, and stacked in little heaps. Then there are some more in intriguing glass-topped caskets that look like coffins at first glance. A tapestry at the Carpet and Art Oasis at Dubai Festival City The people around them speak in hushed whispers as befits either death or some work of great note. Indeed, it’s just that. On display is a priceless Persian carpet that took 14 years for its creation. The $6 million price tag is nothing compared to the immeasurable love, care and artistry that was lavished by three Iranian master weavers to craft a timeless work of art. These creations by the Azimzadeh Carpet company have captured the public imagination but then, Persian carpets have long been known to rule the roost in the industry. Tread with reverence Ishtiaq Ali Mehkri & Sudeshna Sarkar IN THE Central Asian republic of Turkmenistan, the Turkmen carpet is not just a carpet, it’s a way of life. A toddler takes his first tottering steps on the family carpet that is its pride, passed on from generation to generation. Girls store their dowry in carpet bags, and every day, the family prays on the prayer rug. Finally, when a Turkmen essays out on the final journey, the body is lovingly wrapped in a ritual carpet. This integral part of Turkmenistan life is woven from the wool of the delicate Saraja sheep that can be grown only in the bracing climate of Turkmenistan. “The government spent $1 billion to breed the sheep in Europe but they did not survive,” says Arslan Ahmedov, representing the Hatudzha Company. Tukmenhaly, the state-owned corporation, oversees the carpet industry and the export of carpets was allowed by the government only in 2012. Since then, Turkmen carpets have taken part in exhibitions at the Global Village in 2013. “We sold five tonnes,” says Ahmedov. “Of that three tonnes were bought by Russian buyers.” Turkmen carpets, made by women, boast a long antiquity. But because the brand is not as well-established as Persian carpets, Turkmen designs are often wrongly attributed to others. “People ask us, are you from Russia? Or are you from Turkey?” Ahmedov says. The Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, is said to take a special interest in the industry and is seeking to promote it. This is the first time that Turkmen carpets straight from Turkmenistan are taking part in the Carpet and Arts Oasis. To mark that, pride of place is given to a tapestry sporting a wonderful likeness of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “If the breed of Saraja sheep dies out, the art of Turkmenistan carpets will also vanish,” says Ahmedov. “Perhaps then the only place where you will see them will be in the museums.” sudeshna@khalejtimes.com mehkri@khaleejtimes.com Perhaps what is not so known is the emergence of new players with their own unique characteristics. The Fatema bint Mohammed bin Zayed Initiative (FBMI) is one of them. Started three years ago by Shaikha Fatema bint Mohammed bin Zayed, daughter of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with Tanweer Investments, an Afghan carpet maker for three generations, FBMI is promoting Afghanistan’s carpet industry, where the weavers are mostly women, and giving it a global footfall. “We provide direct employment to over 4,000 women and the number is rising,” says Walied Jabarkhyl, FBMI’s executive director. “Plus indirect employment to another 20,000 like nomadic wool suppliers and farmers who provide the vegetables for the dyes.” Though a major export earner, Afghanistan’s carpet industry suffered due to lack of transport facilities. A landlocked mountainous land, its exports are mostly by road, through neighbouring Pakistan. When there are disturbances, the routes are disrupted, bringing exports to a standstill. Also, Afghan carpets have been bulk-sold with the “made in Pakistan” label, causing the Afghan government to lose revenue. But FBMI belongs to the new generation of entrepreneurs whose tools range from the computer to aircraft. It has strategic alliances with major airlines and the consignments are flown out to the UK, US, Brazil, China and Scandinavia. “Everything is from Afghanistan,” says a proud Jabarkhyl. “The wool comes from Afghan sheep, the designs are done in Afghanistan and the weavers are from Afghanistan.” Women weave FBMI’s carpets. Given Afghanistan’s conservative society, they work from home. The looms are set up in village houses and coordinators monitor the progress of work and collect the finished items. This way, the Taleban threat to women who venture out of their homes does not affect the workers, who can make their living from home. The factory in Kabul produces about 4,000 metres of carpet a month, using wool and silk, and the weavers are paid between $2-5 a day. It is a windfall in a country where people on average live on less than $1 a day. Designers and senior weavers earn more. As FBMI is a social project, it provides workers with vocational training as well as education so that a “weaver does not have to remain a weaver all her life”. It also provides medicare and makes education mandatory for workers’ children. About 7,000 children are currently being educated under the FBMI programme. In areas where water is hard to come by, FBMI constructs wells for its community of workers. In addition, it boasts an extraordinary feat that few carpet businesses can rival. It has set up looms inside the Women’s Prison in Kabul so that women prisoners can also earn money. From their village homes, Afghan women are keeping an eye on the world of sports. Soccer is the current favourite since of all sports it generates the highest business for them. Birth of a tradition THE CARPET and Art Oasis was started 19 years ago by Dubai Customs to complement the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). The current edition will run at Dubai Festival City till Feb 1. “(It) is one of the most remarkable events regularly scheduled for the Dubai Shopping Festival,” said Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Executive Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Director General of Dubai Customs. “Dubai Customs is proud to organize the Carpet and Art Oasis that increasingly attracts larger crowds, giving DSF greater splendour as traders, rug lovers and visitors gather in to acquire some of the scarcest and most gorgeous handcrafted carpets.” Jabarkhyl rummages through mounds of carpets to drag out an assortment with some carpets as small as doormats. Each piece is the emblem of some famous football club. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea — you name it, FBMI has it. “There are lots of football fanatics,” Jabarkhyl smiles. “But there is only one place where you can buy this novelty item. From us.” This is the third year that FBMI has been attending the Carpet and Art Oasis. Jabarkhyl says the response has been most encouraging: “It is one of the largest carpet fairs in the Middle East and we are the only representative from Afghanistan,” he says. “FBMI is now known to major floor designers and the footfall has been immense.” Besides the promotion in Dubai, FBMI has something more to cheer this month. Afghan carpets have created a buzz at Hannover’s Domotex 2014, the largest carpet and flooring exhibition in the world. This time, there was an AfghanMade initiative as a tribute to the Afghan carpet industry. Of the hundreds of designs pouring in, six were handcrafted in Afghanistan by FBMI and showcased at Domotex, giving viewers a glimpse of Afghanistan’s rich heritage. FBMI also won the Domotex Carpet Design Award 2014. Like Chinese tea or Indian spices, Afghan carpets are considered to be fit for kings. FBMI’s collection has a carpet designed in 1936 for the then Afghan king Mohammad Nadir Shah by weavers in North Afghanistan. Woven into the royal carpet is a couplet in Dari. It could also be the motto of the Afghan carpet industry: If you decide to work hard to complete a task/Then even thorns will turn into flowers. sudeshna@khalejtimes.com mehkri@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
