His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, confirmed that the Africa Hall is an incubator of Culture as it witnessed the first largest cultural project at the level of the Arab World- Sharjah Cultural Project, which started in 1978.
This came during His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah’ speech, Tuesday, inauguration of the new Africa Hall in the presence of Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of Africa Institute, at the headquarters of the Hall in Al Manakh area at Government Roundabout in Sharjah.
"Throughout these years, Africa Hall has been the warm host of most activities, where there was no other," His Highness said, pointing out the emirate's cultural development. “Today, there are about 16 halls in various places in the emirate”, His Highness added.
Welcoming the guests at the new Africa Hall which incubated Arabic culture be it Emirati, Arabic or African, His Highness reminisced the date of the hall’s first opening – December 14, 1978- marking the convening of Arabic-African relations seminar.
‘Unable to open the aspired African Studies Institute, I hastened to the University of Khartoum, where the Institute of African Studies had a lot of potential, and there, on Tuesday, February 1987, I built Sharjah Hall which is similar to Africa Hall," His Highness reminisced.
His Highness noted that the choice of Tuesday as the day of opening of the Africa Hall and the Sharjah Hall at the University of Khartoum was because Tuesday middles the week and can be masculine and feminine according to grammarians, alluding to gender equality in using the halls.
Highlighting the importance of the African continent, His Highness said that Africa is the origin of humankind where God created human beings, and from Africa they spread in various countries of the world, though colonialist look negatively at this continent.
His Highness concluded his speech thanking Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi and the work team for their efforts in reviving the Africa Hall , wishing them good luck and fortitude.