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1. (L-R) Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, and Isobel Abulhoul, CEO and Trustee of the Emirates Literature Foundation and Festival Director
Abdul Ghaffar Hussain, philanthropist,
prominent Emirati businessman, and
one of the first published writers of
Dubai was honoured
The Khalaf Ahmad
Al Habtoor Lifetime Achievement Award
at the seventh Emirates Airline Festival
of Literature, which took place at the
InterContinental - Dubai Festival City on
March 6, 2015.
The event began with a powerful speech
delivered by the Chairman, followed
by a Q&A session with Tom Urquhart
discussing topics including global and
regional politics, the abuse of social
media in the Arab world, human rights
and women's rights in the UAE.
Khalaf Al Habtoor said, “I can only
reiterate what I told delegates during
my keynote speech to the C3 Summit
held in New York in October last year:
Human rights organisations and the
Western media must stop trying to fit us
into Western moulds… We do not want
to be influenced by foreign concepts of
democracy and human rights. We know
what works for us!”
The Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Lifetime
Achievement Award
was established
in 2014 to recognise outstanding and
long-lasting contributions to the world
of literary endeavour and is awarded to
an individual who has made significant
contributions to literature in the UAE.
Abdul Ghaffar Hussain made his stamp
on the literary scene by publishing the
Dubai Municipality Guide with Kamal
Hamza in 1963 and has written a number
of poetry collections. In the same year,
he established the first public library in
the UAE, Dubai Public Library, as well
as the Al Fahidi Museum.
He also co-founded the Dubai News
magazine and the Society Journal
to which he later contributed to as a
writer and has written and published a
number of articles in newspapers and
magazines on a range of topics from
history to current events.
GROUP
NEWS
Abdul Ghaffar Hussain receives
The Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Lifetime
Achievement Award
3 Group News
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