News Desk
MALE’, Maldives — Adam Naseer Ibrahim, the Minister of Dhivehi Language, Culture and Heritage, departed Sunday for Sharjah to attend the 25th edition of the Sharjah Narrators Forum, a gathering that has become one of the Arab world’s premier stages for storytelling.
The forum, held from September 22 to 26 under the theme “Travelers’ Story,” brings together artists and scholars to share histories, customs, and oral traditions from around the world. Minister Adam Naseer is traveling at the invitation of the Sharjah Institute of Heritage, which will cover all expenses for the visit. He is accompanied by Maldivian experts whose careers have been devoted to safeguarding the nation’s fragile cultural inheritance.
The Maldives’ participation is part of a growing cultural dialogue with the United Arab Emirates. In June, Ambassador Mohammed Hussain Sharif visited the Sharjah Institute and secured an invitation for the Maldives to serve as guest of honor at the 2025 edition of the forum. That moment, celebrated by both governments, was framed as recognition of the archipelago’s storytelling heritage, steeped in tales of sea demons, sorcerers, and ill-fated lovers carried across islands for generations.
For Sharjah, Maldivian stories add a complementary thread to a program that already draws on maritime lore from across the Gulf. “The Maldives’ participation will enrich our program with new tributaries of tales and legends related to the sea and islands,” said Dr. Abdulaziz Al Musallam, the institute’s chairman, when he extended the invitation in June.
Maldivian oral tradition, once shared under palm trees or aboard fishing boats, has long been the glue of community life. Stories like the romance of Dhonhiyala and Alifulhu, or the exorcism of the sea demon Rannamaari, do more than entertain; they embody resilience in a nation where nearly every horizon meets the ocean. Yet these narratives face erosion as digital media and globalization reshape the islands’ cultural landscape.
The Sharjah Narrators Forum, which has hosted storytellers from more than 30 countries since its founding in 2001, offers a platform to revive and project such traditions to wider audiences. For Maldivians, it is a chance to place their heritage alongside other global oral traditions, from Emirati sea tales to African fables.
The Ministry of Dhivehi Language, Culture and Heritage, which is represented at the forum alongside the minister’s delegation, has framed the trip as both a cultural and diplomatic undertaking. Under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the Maldives has sought to extend its presence in global cultural exchanges, seeing them as a way to affirm national identity while building international goodwill.
For now, Minister Adam Naseer’s journey is a prelude to a larger moment. When the Maldives takes the stage as guest of honor in 2025, its storytellers will not just recount myths of demons and lovers; they will carry the voice of an island nation determined to keep its intangible heritage alive in an interconnected world.
