DUBAI: Acclaimed Arab stars including Lebanese actress and director Nadine Labaki, Tunisian Egyptian actress Hend Sabry and Jordanian director and actress Tima Shomali will headline the upcoming Congress of Arabic & Creative Industries in Abu Dhabi from Sept. 14 to 15.
The two-day event, organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, aims to explore the evolving role of the language in the region’s fast-growing creative economy. It brings together cultural leaders, global tech voices and rising regional talent.
The celebrity trio will lead a panel titled “Her Narratives: Women Reimagining Arabic Creativity,” which highlights the impact of Arab women in reshaping storytelling across film, literature, media and digital platforms.
Labaki is best known for her Oscar-nominated film “Capernaum,” Sabry for her award-winning roles in Arabic cinema and Netflix’s “Finding Ola,” and Shomali for co-creating and starring in the Netflix series “AlRawabi School for Girls.”
The session will focus on their personal experiences, creative approaches and the challenges they have overcome while influencing Arabic cultural expression.
Hend Sabry is famous for her award-winning roles in Arabic cinema and Netflix’s “Finding Ola.” (Instagram)
Other highlights include “Whose Story Is It?”— a conversation on originality versus adaptation in Arabic television featuring Egyptian screenwriter Mariam Naoum, Syrian author and poet Rami Koussa and OSN executive Rolla Karam.
The session will examine how localized remakes and original content shape identity and creative ownership in an increasingly globalized market.
The congress also brings together major players in technology and media, with partners including Google, AWS, TikTok, Adobe and Sard Writers’ Room.
The agenda spans themes including artificial intelligence, digital publishing, and the business of creativity through a series of curated panels and industry conversations.
In “Creators, Capital, and Control,” executives from Snap, TikTok and Meta will discuss power dynamics in today’s content economy.
Also, “Arabic Language Crisis and the Coming Shift” will examine the tension between Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects. Panelists include Dr. Ali bin Tamim, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, and language expert Dr. Hanada Taha Thomure.
