CULTURAL EXCHANGE GROUP THAT BURSTS THE EXPAT BUBBLE
▶ Meet the Locals was founded to break down barriers between Emiratis and UAE residents from elsewhere
When she worked in higher education, Khadija Behzad was alarmed when colleagues repeatedly told her she was the only Emirati they knew.
It is a common phenomenon in the UAE. A poll in 2015 revealed that while the overwhelming majority of residents found Emiratis to be friendly and welcoming, only 38 per cent said it was easy to make friends with them.
Ms Behzad and her business partner, Abdullah Al Matar, have made it their mission to break down cultural barriers, promoting interaction between Emiratis and others.
Their business, Meet the Locals, exposes expats and tourists to authentic Emirati culture through dining experiences, tours and corporate inductions run only by UAE nationals. “My passion is travel and meeting people from different nationalities,” said Ms Behzad, 33, who cofounded the business in July 2017.
“But for people coming to the UAE, it can be difficult to meet the locals.
“We want people to feel that this is their second home.
“We don’t want them feel isolated from the country or culture they are working in.”
The unique demographics of the UAE – where foreign nationals outnumber Emiratis by almost 10 to one – is a factor behind the lack of integration, she said. At the same time, residents from overseas are often drawn into silos, socialising and living with those with similar cultural backgrounds.
“There are a lot of people who have lived here for several years, and when we interact with them at work they would say ‘you are the only local I know and we don’t know much about your culture’,” said Ms Behzad, who is from Dubai.
“There are not many interaction opportunities outside the workplace and that made me feel sad. We also identified that tourists are coming to our country and are leaving without getting the chance to meet local people or be exposed to authentic Emirati experiences. We wanted them to get them to know us and our culture.”
Meet the Locals was one of four businesses to win a place on Ibtikari, a six-month incubator programme run by start AD and Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. The initiative aims to foster entre Ramadan preneurship among Emiratis by providing financial backing and mentorship to homegrown businesses.
Meet the Locals started by staging breakfast events at Emirati restaurants, at which guests could sample traditional cuisine while a local host described the dishes and told them about UAE history. Lunches, dinners and sessions on the customs around Arabic coffee also proved successful.
Meet the Locals then began running tours, first in Dubai and later in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. Each is led by trained Emirati tour guides.
It is now branching out into the corporate sector by providing crash courses in cultural awareness for staff who are new to the UAE. Topics explored include appropriate behaviour towards women and accepting invitations to Emirati homes.
All events feature question and answer sessions in which no topic is off limits.
“A lot of the time we can feel that they are hesitating to ask questions,” Ms Behzad said. “We make them feel comfortable and tell them they can ask any questions they have.
“Even if they have questions about sensitive issues, we prefer to answer them ourselves than them get information from a non-local or Google, because not everything they find on the internet will be true.”
Another strand of the business – offering bespoke packages to foreign delegations visiting for conferences – is also developing. Ms Behzad hopes it will expand into all emirates. “We have Emirati tour guides who can speak different languages,” she said. “For example, we had a delegation from Korea and we have a lady in our team who can speak Korean,” Ms Behzad said. “It was interesting to see an Emirati speaking Korean to the delegates.”
Meet the Locals is now encouraging more Emiratis to join its team, which currently has about 20 members.
Many of its members work on a freelance basis alongside their day jobs.
“We are open to all Emiratis joining our team, they just have to have passion,” she said.
“I believe to understand each other we have to interact. Without interaction, we cannot break stereotypes.”
No topic is off limits at the gatherings, at which guests are encouraged to ask questions about UAE customs and attitudes