United Arab Emirates

Inscribed in 2025 (20.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Between 2011 and 2023, a safeguarding programme was put in place to address the risk of disappearance of Al Sadu weaving, whose know-how is preserved by a dwindling number of older women. Thanks to the combined efforts and resources of social actors, research, documentation, knowledge transfer, dissemination, marketing support, and awareness-raising activities have been implemented in a concerted and participatory manner. This has ensured the continuity and transmission of the element while creating employment and income-generating opportunities for many people.

The element was first inscribed on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2011, as the rapid economic development and social transformations brought about by the advent of oil had caused a sharp decline in the practice of Al Sadu. Today, as a result of safeguarding efforts, the weavers often gather in small groups to spin and weave, exchanging family news and occasionally chanting and reciting poetry. Such gatherings are the traditional means of transmission of the related knowledge and skills: girls learn by watching, and are gradually given tasks to do, such as sorting the wool, before learning the more intricate skills involved. The element promotes unity among craftspeople while fostering intergenerational exchange and community dialogue.