UAE remembers Sheikh Zayed as a guiding light for its people
The green spaces house 188 trees spread across the Founder’s Memorial in a way that allows visitors to learn more about their characteristics
The Founder’s Memorial, a permanent tribute to the late founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, is celebrating its third anniversary that took place on the 26th of February, 2018 through the unveiling of the centrepiece of the site, a monumental artwork named The Constellation.
The inauguration of the Memorial coincided with the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, declaring 2018 to be the ‘Year of to mark the 100-year anniversary of Sheikh Zayed’s birth.
Housed in a 30m-high pavilion, The Constellation contains 1,327 geometric shapes suspended on 1,110 cables, with the artwork weighing more than 250 tonnes. By night, the suspended shapes shine like stars, a reminder of Sheikh Zayed’s role as a guiding light for the UAE and its people. This celestial display evokes the timelessness of Sheikh Zayed’s vision, which continues to guide the UAE along the path to progress and prosperity.
The memorial includes various types of trees and plants that are part of the rich natural environment of the Arabian Peninsula, which reflects the late Sheikh Zayed’s passion for nature and his keenness to preserve the local environment. The green spaces house 188 trees spread across the Founder’s Memorial in a way that allows visitors to learn more about their characteristics.
This is in addition to an elevated walkway encircling the space that includes the wise words of the late Sheikh Zayed which remained a source of inspiration to many generations.
In addition, “Sheikh Zayed: A Century of Memories,” was organised by Lest We Forget, a community-based initiative supported by the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, and featured a collection of personal stories and artifacts related to the late Sheikh Zayed that were provided by members of the UAE community.
The second temporary exhibition, organised by the EU delegation to the UAE, and entitled “Sheikh Zayed and Europe: A Journey,” honoured the life of the late Sheikh Zayed, documented his diplomatic relationships with a number of European leaders, and celebrated the longstanding ties between the UAE and Europe.
The memorial also hosted the Sister Cities event, in which Karen Pence, Second Lady of the Unites States, on behalf of the American city of Houston, presented a commemorative git to the city of Abu Dhabi.
The memorial presented a commemorative git of a model of a piece of the geometric shapes used in designing the artwork “Al Thuraya” (The Constellation,), in appreciation of the deep bonds between the two cities.
Moreover, a youth forum was held at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi. It was organised by World Muslim Communities Council, WMCC in late 2019, under the theme “Building Future Leaders: Commitment, Integrity and Innovation” presenting a set of recommendations most notably the empowerment of Muslim youth to lead the institutions of their societies, as well as promote their ideas, visions and aspirations.
The Founder’s Memorial also served as the site for the official lighting of the Special Olympics World Games torch, in a high-profile ceremony organised by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company [ADNOC] and atended by thousands of athletes, volunteers and supporters.
Since opening in 2018, the Founder’s Memorial has witnessed a large number of official visits by high-ranking personalities, reflecting its position as a monument that commemorates the life of a leader who has been a source of inspiration to others, including the President of the Republic of Afghanistan, Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghanii; Boyko Borissov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria; Ibrahim Kasuri Fofana, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea; Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; Jeong Kyeong-doo, Minister of National Defence of South Korea; Second Lady of the US, Karen Pence; and Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum., as well as Meir Ben Shabbat, advisor and head of the Israeli National Security Council.
The Memorial welcomes visitors daily from 9 am to 10 pm. Free parking spaces are available throughout the week on Street 18. Walking visitors can enter the Memorial from the Corniche side, in addition to a drop-off and pick-up space for taxi and tourist bus passengers.