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Sharjah Celebrates International Museum Day With Action-Packed Community Challenges |
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Teams take part in series of interactive competitions designed to highlight and celebrate Sharjah’s culture and heritage.Sharjah Museums Department celebrated International Museum Day on May 18 with five days of fun-filled challenges starting from the heart of Sharjah. Each day from May 13 to May 17, small teams made up of members of the public, government sector workers, tour operators and hotel staff went head-to-head to complete challenges based on Sharjah’s rich cultural landscape and heritage. The challenges started from Sharjah Heritage Museum and involved a treasure hunt style quest for clues to completing tasks based around Sharjah’s heritage. Examples included completing maps, assembling pearl jewelry, spotting differences between famous art works and preparing henna. The annual event aimed to celebrate the theme of International Museum Day, which was chosen this year as “Museums and the Cultural Environment”. It was one of several events held by Sharjah Museums Department to celebrate the day, including a poetry reading held at Sharjah University Auditorium, Kalba, in which His Excellency Rashid Sharar, Director of Sharjah Nabati Poetry Centre, recited work by the renowned poet and writer Sheikh Saeed bin Hamad Al Qasimi. Manal Ataya, Director General of Sharjah Museums Department, said: “As home to so many world class museums, International Museum Day is not just an occasion to celebrate for SMD, but for the whole of the emirate of Sharjah. “This year, the emphasis was on the important role museums play in highlighting and celebrating heritage. We are fortunate in Sharjah to have a diverse and rich heritage and it was great to see so many people experience it in a fun and interactive environment that tested them mentally and physically.” International Museum Day is held every year on May 18 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), an organisation created in 1946 by and for museum professionals. The ICOM has grown to become a unique network of more than 35,000 members and museum professionals who represent the global museum community. Each year, ICOM chooses a different theme to celebrate. This year’s theme emphasises the responsibility of museums regarding the cultural landscapes they are part of and asks them to contribute knowledge and expertise and take an active role in their management and upkeep. SMD celebrated the run up to the big day with a series of tasks that reinforced its objective to take museum content directly into the community. The role of Sharjah Heritage Museum was emphasised as the start and end point of each challenge. Over the course of five days, teams of three took part in the wide range of tasks that took them in and around SMD’s wide range of museums. The winners posted their results on Instagram using the handle @sharjahmuseums. SMD also used the occasion of International Museum Day to celebrate its tenth anniversary. For more information on Sharjah Museums Department, please visit www.sharjahmuseums.ae |
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