His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, in presence of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Ambassador of the Faya World Heritage Site, attended the official ceremony on Monday for the inscription of “Faya” on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During his speech at the ceremony, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi highlighted the distinctiveness of this site, noting that its rocks not only preserve the layers of time but also narrate stories of the earliest human presence on this land.
The ceremony, held at the Mleiha Archaeological Centre, began with His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah inaugurating the commemorative monument that marks the inscription of Faya on the UNESCO World Heritage List, graciously activating the icon designated for the announcement. His Highness also received the official inscription certificate from Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in a moment that highlighted Faya’s global significance and celebrated this international achievement, reinforcing the United Arab Emirates’ role in preserving humanity’s heritage and protecting sites of outstanding value.
Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi announced during her speech the launch of the “Faya Research Grant”, a new international scientific initiative worth two million dirhams, spanning over three years. This initiative demonstrates the Sharjah government’s strong commitment to investing in culture and aims to support specialised studies on Faya, encourage the participation of young researchers, and provide opportunities for Emirati students to engage in scientific missions that help expand knowledge about the site and its significance in human development. The grant is overseen by the Sharjah Archaeology Authority under the supervision of the Scientific Committee for the Faya World Heritage Site.
She added: “On the eleventh of July this year, the inscription of Faya on the World Heritage List was announced—a moment we had worked towards for decades. When we achieved this goal, what we felt was not so much victory or triumph as it was gratitude: gratitude for the world’s recognition of our conviction, and for the understanding that the Faya site carries a story, and that the voices of those who lived here hundreds of thousands of years ago deserve to be heard as part of our shared human history.”
Her Highness, Ambassador of the Faya World Heritage Site, emphasised the significance of Faya’s inscription on the World Heritage List, stating: “The inscription of Faya on the World Heritage List confirms the global importance of this site and enhances our understanding of early human migration, adaptation, and innovation. It situates the Arabian Peninsula at the centre of this narrative. Historically, the Arabian Peninsula was viewed merely as a conduit between continents, but the Faya site has challenged and transformed that perception, revealing that the humans who crossed this land returned, settled, and adapted here. Over thousands of years, they evolved, learned, and left traces that help us understand our origins, where we came from, and what unites us as one human family.”
She added: “These discoveries urge us to reopen the books of history and reconsider assumptions long regarded as givens, and to realise that our understanding of human history remains open to discovery and development.”
Her Highness, Ambassador of the Faya World Heritage Site, commended the efforts of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, stating: “This achievement would not have been possible without the vision of His Highness, who adopted this project and supported it with wisdom and unwavering commitment over decades. From the outset, His Highness believed that this land tells a story worth sharing with the world, and that understanding our history, heritage, and identity is the greatest investment in our future. His steadfast conviction has helped ensure the long-term sustainability of the project.”
Her Highness highlighted the efforts made by the relevant institutions, saying: “The Sharjah Archaeology Authority has worked closely with researchers and academics from prestigious international universities and institutions to advance this work over years of excavation, study, analysis, and discovery. It became clear that Faya played a central role in early human presence in this region, and that the Arabian Peninsula was among the first human habitats where conscious interaction between humans and their physical environment occurred.”
Her Highness, Ambassador of the Faya World Heritage Site, spoke about future plans, saying: “With global recognition of this knowledge, we look forward to the future of this site and what we will continue to learn from it in the coming days and years, as well as the commitment and intensified efforts it requires from us. Here in the Emirate of Sharjah, we reaffirm our dedication to protecting and preserving Faya, ensuring the sustainability of this heritage for future generations. We recognise that the story of Faya must continue to expand through ongoing research, discovery, and international collaboration.”
At the conclusion of her speech, Her Highness expressed appreciation and gratitude to Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, to the esteemed members of the World Heritage Committee, and to everyone who contributed to this journey. She highlighted that their confidence in the outstanding universal value of Faya was a key factor in securing recognition, emphasising that this inscription is both an honour and a responsibility. Faya now belongs to the world, and Her Highness pledged to continue working to deepen understanding of the site’s significance for future generations.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, commended the efforts of the Emirate of Sharjah during his speech, expressing his honour and pleasure at being in Sharjah and at the exceptional site to celebrate the inscription of Faya on the World Heritage List. He observed that this high-level recognition by the World Heritage Committee marks a significant milestone in recognising this unique site, affirming its global importance as a heritage of humanity, Thanking His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for the efforts given to the culture and heritage, and the importance of its preservation and dissemination for future generations, is commendable.
The ceremony featured a broad artistic and scientific programme, offering guests an immersive experience of Faya’s history and human depth. A short archival film showcased the site and its discoveries, followed by the “Faya Research Grant” film, narrated to explain the initiative’s aims, supporting future research and fostering a new generation of young researchers. A presentation titled “The Story of Faya” was displayed on panoramic screens across a rock façade at the heart of the site, using 3D filming techniques and accurate natural footage to simulate changing environments over more than 210,000 years, creating a visual and poetic narrative that retraced humanity’s first steps in the region. The programme ended with an innovative performance called “Echoes of Faya”, which used light and air to show how Faya’s memory is recorded in sand, water, rocks, and wind. The display showed changing scenes of mountainous and desert environments, Faya’s sands, and geological layers over time, providing attendees with a multisensory experience that revived the site’s memory and traced the natural and human changes shaping its history, blending art, scientific research, and heritage.
His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah presented commemorative plaques to partner institutions that contributed to the successful nomination of Faya. His Highness visited the Mleiha Archaeological Centre and viewed the exhibition “Faya’s Journey to World Heritage 1973–2025”, which highlighted key milestones from early scientific investigations by international teams to the mapping of the Faya mountains and archaeological findings that changed the understanding of early human migration from Africa. The tour ended with the site’s official inscription on the World Heritage List in 2025.
The inscription of Faya marks years of dedicated work led by Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, who served as the official ambassador for the nomination. Working with an integrated team from the Sharjah Archaeology Authority, international partners, and expert institutions, she documented the site’s outstanding universal value and prepared scientific studies highlighting Faya as one of the oldest living records of human presence in desert environments for over 200 to 210,000 years.
Please click here to read His Highness' statement on this occasion.