Students to be Louvre Abu Dhabi envoys
24 Emirati students complete training under Student Ambassador Programme
Aprogramme that trained 24 Emirati students to act as ambassadors for Louvre Abu Dhabi concluded with a ceremony attended by dignitaries at Saadiyat Al Manarat on Wednesday evening.
The Louvre Abu Dhabi Student Ambassador Programme trained students from seven different universities from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to become spokespersons for the muchanticipated museum.
The ceremony was attended by Noora Mohammad Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs; Saif Saeed Ghobash, director-general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi); and Manuel Rabate, director of Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines, Al Kaabi said, “The ambassadors are young, they are from the UAE and they are spreading awareness about the Louvre.”
“At the end of the day, it is so important for us that when we witness the opening of the Louvre, we also witness Emiratis talking about the Louvre and being the bridge between cultures, whether they are visitors coming to Abu Dhabi or they are UAE nationals, and I think it will inspire other youths to follow in their footsteps,” she added.
The students who came from a diverse range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes celebrated the occasion with their families and reminisced over what they had learnt.
“I think I am walking away enlightened, informed and most importantly grateful for all the opportunities that Louvre Abu Dhabi has provided me,” said Fatima Karmostaji, a 21-year-old undergraduate student majoring in Communication and Media Science at Zayed University (Abu Dhabi).
“My mind is more open to the world and other cultures.”
Ahmad Al Zarouni, 22-yearold undergraduate student majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Khalifa University, said, “The course has had such a huge impact on me. I have an engineering background and now I am seriously thinking about doing something with the system engineering aspects of museums.”
Shamma Al Bastaki, 20-yearold undergraduate student double majoring in Social Research and Public Policy, and Literature at New York University, said, “On a personal level, I gained a lot of team work skills. I gained a lot of confidence working with a team of people from such diverse backgrounds and finding the links that connect us to promote this revolutionary museum.”
The programme ran a number of activities and training sessions including an etching workshop with the education team inspired by Louvre Abu Dhabi’s collection, familiarising the ambassadors with the museum’s artworks and artefacts.