Emirates LitFest 2027 Charts New Course with Fiker Institute

The Emirates Literature Foundation has formalised a partnership with Fiker Institute to curate the Current Affairs programme for Emirates LitFest 2027, a collaboration that brings together two of the region’s most intellectually distinguished institutions. The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by Ahlam Bolooki, Chief Executive of the Emirates Literature Foundation, and Dubai Abulhoul, Founder and Chief Executive of Fiker Institute, represents a convergence of literary excellence and scholarly rigour that promises to elevate festival discourse to unprecedented heights.

Over the past five years, Fiker Institute has established itself as an authoritative voice in regional and global affairs, nurturing independent dialogue and thought leadership through scholarship, research, publications and public programming. That expertise will now inform the Current Affairs strand of Emirates LitFest 2027, creating an intellectually fertile space where audiences may engage with the most consequential questions of our moment.

Anticipating the Conversations that Matter

Rather than merely documenting what is unfolding around us, the partnership seeks to identify the emerging conversations that will define the region and the world in the months and years ahead. The programme will encompass discussions of geopolitics, social transformation, cultural evolution, identity, technological advancement and the future trajectory of the region itself. It is an undertaking rooted in the conviction that literature and current affairs share a common purpose: to comprehend the world as it truly is, not as we might wish it to be.

Bolooki remarked upon the particular timeliness of the partnership, noting that the accelerating pace of global change demands a festival programme capable of anticipating rather than merely responding. “It is not simply about reading the room,” she observed, “it is about predicting the room.” This forward looking sensibility will distinguish Emirates LitFest 2027 as a platform for foresight as well as reflection.

Extending Beyond the Main Stage

The collaboration extends beyond the principal Current Affairs programming to encompass the Festival’s youth initiative, creating structured opportunities for university students to engage in substantive discussion about Arabic and Arab literature, alongside themes of particular relevance to younger audiences and the broader region. This intergenerational dimension underscores a shared commitment to nurturing the next generation of thinkers and leaders.

The partnership embodies a conviction that rigorous intellectual engagement need not come at the expense of accessibility. By bringing together leading thinkers, writers and voices from across the region and beyond, Emirates LitFest 2027 will demonstrate that understanding our historical moment requires neither the sacrifice of intellectual depth nor the constraints of esoteric discourse. It is an invitation to audiences to consider simultaneously where we are heading and how we arrived at this particular juncture, grounded in the belief that such understanding is both possible and necessary.

Imagery courtesy of Emirates Literature Foundation.