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Introduction to SMCCUThe Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understand-ing (SMCCU) is a non-prot organisation established to

increase awareness and understanding between the vari-ous cultures that live in Dubai. Established under the pa-

tronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashidal Maktoum in 1998, we operate under the banner of

Open Doors,Open Minds. whilst striving to remove thebarrier between people of different nationalities and raise

awareness of the local culture, customs and religion ofthe United Arab Emirates.

When people arrive in the UAE, many do not know whatto expect nor do they have a real understanding of Emi -

rati culture. In fact, there are many expatriates who havelived and worked in the UAE for years and are yet to meet

an Emirati, says SMCCUs Director and founder, Mr.Abdullah Bin Eisa Al Serkal.

The programmes offered by SMCCU can help explain the

customs, culture, religion and etiquette within the contextof Emirati culture.

Our sole aim is to welcome non-Emiratis into UAE culture

and give them a chance to truly integrate within Emiratisociety. It is the goal of SMCCU to be the initial step for all

people entering the UAE, and SMCCU will undoubtedlyenhance working and living experience here.

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Cultural BreakfastsSMCCU continued its extremely popular tradition of host-

ing guests for Cultural Breakfasts in our traditional wind-tower house in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai. In 2010, SMCCU

increased the number of breakfasts hosted from onceto twice weekly, meaning in an average year we now

host approximately 100 Cultural Breakfasts during whichguests chat with a Emirati host and ask questions about

local customs and heritage.In 2010, SMCCU hosted:

1159 guests in public breakfasts

402 guests in private breakfasts

In total, 1561 guests participated in SMCCUs Cultural

Breakfast programme in 2010.

A private group from the Dubai International Film Festival visiting SMCCUfor breakfast in December 2010.

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The largest single party SMCCU hosted for a private breakfast in 2010 was group of 60 Australian missionaries who werevisiting Dubai and keen to nd out more about Emirati religion and culture.

Additionally, we also hosted various other parties for private Cultural Breakfasts including groups from: the Universal

American School (Dubai), Japanese journalists, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Guests of the Dubai World Cup, theEmirates Foundation and the College of Arabic & Islamic Studies

A private group of Australian missionaries listen to a presentation by SMCCUs General Manager Mr. Nasif Kayed.

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SMCCU also continued its extremely popular traditionof hosting guests for Cultural Lunches in our traditional

windtower house in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai.

As with the breakfast programmes, SMCCU increasedthe number of lunches hosted from once to twice weekly,

meaning in an average year we now host approximately100 Cultural Lunches during which guests chat with anEmirati host and ask questions about local customs and

heritage.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted:

1183 guests in public lunches 456 guests in private lunches

In total, 1639 guests participated in SMCCUs Cultural

Lunch programme in 2010.

Cultural Lunches

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Students from The Japanese School pose with their Emirati host onSMCCUs rooftop terrace.

The largest number we catered for at a public

Lunch was 34 people, and the largest group we

hosted for a private breakfast was a group of 50

students from Hult International Business School

(Dubai).

Some notable groups that SMCCU hosted for

private Cultural Lunch include: Thunderbird Uni-

versity (USA), guests from the Dubai World Cup,

students from Duke University (USA), students

from the Japanese School and guests from The

Ibrahim Leadership & Dialogue Project in the

Middle East from Washington (DC), USA.

Students from the College of Islamic + Arabic Studies enjoy lunchalongside other guests at SMCCU.

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Bastakiya Walking & Heritage Tours

Our Bastakiya Walking Tours continue to be a popular

option for people who want to learn more about the olderareas of Dubai.

The walking tour lasts for around 40 minutes and takesplace in the Bastakiya area surrounding SMCCU. The

tour is followed by a 20 minute Question & Answer ses-sion with Arabic coffee and dates hosted by our guide at

the SMCCU house.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted a total of 847 guests on guidedwalks through the Bastakiya area.

Private groups included representatives from Shell Pe-

troleum, West Virginia University (USA), the Dubai Inter-national Film Festival, Novartis Pharmaceuticals and The

Emirates Foundation.

A guest from the Dubai International Film Festival holds a falcon

whilst touring the Bastakiya with SMCCU.

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In the summer of 2010 SMCCU introduced the Bastakiya Heritage Tour which is a Bastakiya Walking Tour plus a 30 minute guided visit insidethe Bastakiya Mosque. This was created in order to meet the growing demand from people who did not have the time to visit both the Jumeirah

Mosque and the Bastakiya area but were keen to learn as much about local culture and religion as possible.

Starting from June 2010, SMCCU hosted 252 people on Bastakiya Heritage Tours. Special groups included visitors from Adidas, WoollongongUniversity Principle, missionaries from Australia and students from Regent International School.

Students from the Regent International School watch an SMCCU presenter demonstrate a prayer inside the Bastakiya masjid.

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Ramadan 2010: Iftar Dinners

The Iftar Dinners are a seasonal event held in the holy

month of Ramadan. During the months of August andSeptember 2010, SMCCU invited guests to join a tradi-

tional breaking-of-the-fast meal at our traditional windtower house in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai in order to learnabout the Islamic tradition of fasting and prayer.

Following the meal, guests are guided on a casual walk

around the beautiful and historical Bastakiya neighbour-hood, and watch and learn about Ramadan prayer rituals.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted a total of 1,040 guests for Iftar

during Ramadan.

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Spanning August and September 2010, SMCCU hosted 641 guests at public Iftar celebrations as wellas 399 guests at private Iftar celebrations in our historical wind tower house in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai.

Guests chat with a volunteer at SMCCUs Iftar dinner during Ramadan 2010.

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Mosque Visits - Jumeirah Mosque

In an effort to demystify Islam and educate visitors on therole of religion in UAE society, SMCCU hosts guided vis -

its of mosques, or masjids, in Dubai.

Over the past ten years, the Jumeirah Mosque has be-come a focal point of SMCCUs Open Doors, Open

Minds practice as it is the only working masjid in Dubaiwhich is open to the public and dedicated to receiving

non-Muslim guests.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted a total of 20,224 guests at our

public mosque visit. Additionally, we also hosted 6,397guests on private mosque visits meaning that in 2010,

SMCCU hosted a total number of 26,621 guests on oureducational mosque visits.

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Under SMCCUsFreedom to Ask

policy, no question is off limits and guests are encouraged to askas many questions as possible in order to clarify common misconceptions about Islam. We have hosted

groups ranging from Emirates Airlines to public school groups aiming to increase students awarenessof the role which plays in Emirati culture and life.

Some notable groups that SMCCU hosted for Mosque visit include: Australian Intl School Sharjah, New

York Uni Abu Dhabi Campus, The Japanese School of Dubai, Jaguar Land Rovers + British Airwaysrepresentatives.

Guests queue up outside the Jumeirah Mosque for a guided tour open to the public.

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In an extension of SMCCUs Mosque visit programmes

and in order to make our visits more accessible to every -one, non-Muslims can now also have guided visits to theBastakiya Mosque in Bur Dubai by pre arrangement. We

have also developed an educational programme exclu-sively for schools at the Grand Mosque in Rashidiya.

Mosque Visits - Rashidiya / Bastakiya

Regent School At Bastakiya Masjid

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Corporate Partnership Programme in

2010

In an effort to achieve team building and social harmony

in the workplace, SMCCU launched a campaign offeringcustomized Cultural Partnership Program to all institu-

tions wishing to enhance their current induction programsfor UAE-based staff in 2011. These programs contribute

towards fullling corporate social responsibility objectivesand provide staff with exceptional experiences and insight

in to local customs and culture of the UAE.

Each cultural program is unique, and incorporates SMC-CUs Freedom to Ask policy under which no question

is off limits. Participants can engage in activities fromcultural meals, heritage tours, Mosque visits and Arabic

classes, all of which are hosted in the historical Bastakiyadistrict of Bur Dubai. UAE-based companies who chooseto partner with SMCCU can be sure that their employees

will directly benet from cultural awareness training whichwill improve business tactics in the Middle East.

Some notable groups that SMCCU hosted for private

Cultural Lunch include: Adidas, GEMS World Academy,Australian Missionaries, West Virginia Univercity, Nestle

ME etc..

If you would like to enquires further about this programs,please contact us directly on [email protected]

or 04 353 6666.

SMCCU representative Souad with Nestle Team for Cultural AwarenessTraining in 2010.

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Cultural Awareness Presentations and

Special Events in 2010

SMCCU hosts Cultural Awareness Presentations (CAPs)

for companies to introduce the customs, cultural and heri-tage of the UAE. In 2010, SMCCU hosted 2,126 guests

for Cultural Awareness Presentations.

We also host special events across Dubai, including au-thentic cultural themes and dancing to traditional food and

educational seminars on Emirati and Islamic history.Highlights of SMCCU special events in 2010 include our

participation at the Arabian Travel Market, and a tradi-tional Emirati tent set up in Ibn Bhuttuta Mall during Ra-

madan.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted a total of 388 guests for privatedinners and cultural awareness training.

In a presentation by SMCCUs General Manager Mr. Nasif Kayed.

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In addition to SMCCUs regular programmes, we also

have been offering Spoken Gulf Arabic classes for overeight years. Small class sizes available on week days or

weekends in which our students learn traditional KhalijiArabic, the dialect spoken in the GCC states in the Arab

Gulf.

In 2010, SMCCU hosted several series of weekly classeswith a total of 33 participants learning how to speak Khaliji

Arabic.

Looking forward to 2011, SMCCU will be launching ex-panded Arabic programs, offering both Classical Arabic

classes and private classes for institution wishing to train-ing their staff in Arabic language skills both in and outsideof the workplace. For further information on these pro-

grams, please contact us directly on [email protected] 04 353 6666.

Spoken Gulf Arabic Classes

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Three students from a Spoken Gulf Arabic class hold up their prizes for top marks infront of SMCCUs traditional wind tower house in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai.

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Special GuestsIn 2010, SMCCU hosted several notable guests, all of

whom were welcomed under our philosophy of OpenDoors,Open Minds.

Notable guests of SMCCUs programmes in 2010 includeAmerican pop singer Beyonce Knowles, Mr. Doug Trap-

pett who serves as the Australian Ambassador to theUAE, representatives from the Dubai International Film

Festival (DIFF) and guests from the World Ship Visit pro-gramme!

American pop singer Beyonc Knowles visiting

SMCCUs Jumeirah Mosque in November 2010.

Australian Ambassador Mr. Doug Trappett meeting visiting SMCCU.

Guests from Dubai International

Film Festival enjoying a CulturalBreakfast at SMCCU.

Guests from the Ship of the World

Youth visiting SMCCU.

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Future Projects for 2011SMCCU has a lot of exciting plans for 2011, including

opening a permanent Visitors Centre at Jumeirah Mosquewhich could receive guests outside of tour hours.

This Majlis will be used for various cultural programmes

as a way of making the UAEs culture, traditions and reli -gion more accessible to everyone.

Also, we are planning on operating more SMCCUs cul-

tural activities across the Bastakiya neighborhood in BurDubai.

Main entrance to the Majlis The Majlis next to Jumeirah Mosque

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Also in the works for 2011, SMCCU is planning on offer -ing a traditional desert venue for guests to visit and enjoy

an authentic and entertaining Bedouin Tent experience!

In addition to our current cultural training scheme whichincludes Cultural Awareness Presentations and Cultural

Partnership Programs, SMCCU is planning to launch a

Policy Advisory Service in 2011, which will include cul-tural advice for international corporations doing businessin the UAE.

Finally, SMCCU will be expanding on a current programwith Emirates Airlines to provide regular Cultural Aware-

ness Presentations and training for new staff entering intothe UAE. The is a valuable program, ensuring that SMC-

CU is the rst step which foreigners take when integratingand being welcomed to life in the UAE.

If you would like to become involved in any of these proj-ects, please contact us directly on [email protected] or

04 353 6666.

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SMCCU Volunteers for 2011

We rely on bright, outgoing UAE nationals to make ourprograms as dynamic and exciting as they are. If you are

interested in being part of this unique opportunity to intro-duce your culture to the world, please contact us directly

on [email protected] or 04 353 6666.

Volunteers: Mohamad, Abdula G., Humaid and Abdula A. at SMCCU in

2010.

SMCCU volunteers Hanna, Souad and Himian.SMCCU volunteers

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SMCCU volunteers

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Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural UnderstandingTel: +9714 3536666, Fax: +9714 3536661, E mail: [email protected], Web: www.cultures.ae

Come and experience our Open Doors.Open Minds activities

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