Is there an Emirati way of working or leading a team? How different are Emirati work ethics from other ones in the world? And how do Emirati nationals navigate multicultural company rules? Based on his experience as senior executive of oil and gas company Total, Sultan Al Hajji, who is also the President of Alliance Francaise in Abu Dhabi, shares his insights and observations. In the last part of our conversation, Sultan also tells us about a personal loss in his life that had a profound impact on his future relationship with others and redefined priorities.

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Music credit: ccmixter.org / ramblinglibrarian_-_Night_Has_a_Thousand_Eyes_(ft._Aussens_iter)

Sultan Al Hajj is the son of a self-taught oil and gas worker - who was also one of the last Emirati employees to strike against  British leadership – and the grandson of a “medicine man” providing psychological relief to fellow villagers. Sultan grew up in the emirate of Sharjah, at a time when the UAE was not yet a country, and made it to the highest positions at the oil and gas company Total in Abu Dhabi. He is currently also the President of the language institute Alliance Française.

In this episode, which is part 1 of our interview with him, Sultan shares colourful childhood memories, including doing his homework on his belly in a tent with a kerosene lamp, and old days' special teaching methods at school. Sultan also recalls some of his family’s strong personalities who shaped his character.

Emirati architect Alamira Reem Bani Hashim came back from 12 years in California with a PHD in Urban Planning, becoming the 1st female Emirati with that distinction*. In this episode she explains why she left the UAE at 17 to study abroad on her own. Describing herself as an overachiever and perfectionist, Reem experienced depression, an imposter syndrome, but finally found herself and her own identity. Her husband Arsalan explains how they met and what matters for them as a couple in the Emirati context. Both are also partners in business after founding an interior design company with an original concept and name that resonates with their lives: “The Native Bohemians”.

This episode was hosted by Nathalie Gillet, and was recorded in public at the French language institute Alliance française, by Fahim Benchouk from the company Fuzyo.

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* Episode 10 of “Emirati stories” was dedicated to Reem's work on Abu Dhabi and the story of the UAE capital's development. We strongly recommend her recently published book “Planning Abu Dhabi”.

** Music: "Unbury Your Heart", by Snowflake

Alamira Reem Bani Hashim explains how evolving political priorities and social realities in the UAE have shaped Abu Dhabi's development over decades, before and after the discovery of oil. Reem is an Emirati researcher and PhD holder in Urban Development who recently published "Planning Abu Dhabi", a book on Abu Dhabi’s urban history over the last century. This episode is part 1 of our interview.

Music: "All Together", by CSoul Available at ccMixter.org http://ccmixter.org/

Sara Al Shorouqi, 41, is one of the most senior Emirati female executives in one of the UAE's biggest investment groups. Her father (a teacher and school director) and mother (an artist) played a crucial role in her building self-confidence and managing a career while raising 4 children as a single mother. In this episode, Sara also speaks about her battles against stereotypes in the workplace - and outside the UAE in general - about Emiratisation, and how medical issues finally changed the perspective

A true feminist voice with an Emirati twist.

Music: credit to NiGiD - "Liberty Road"  (ft. Loveshadow Doxent Zsigmond)

Rashed Hassan is a young film actor in Abu Dhabi. His passion for movies and storytelling as a child took a new turn as a young man when national service gave him the opportunity to meet experienced actor Mohammed Ahmed, and audition for a role in one of Humaid Al Suwaidi’s feature films. In this episode, Rashed speaks about his experience of the UAE's recently introduced national service, his family, his emotions when he is acting, his idea of the ideal life partner, and finally what his part-time job as a concierge agent at Rosewood hotel - an unusual job for an Emirati national - has taught him.

Thabet Al Qaissiyeh is a 36-year old entrepreneur who runs a family business. Two years ago he decided to build a space observatory on the family farm in the Abu Dhabi desert. He is now working with one of the most prestigious universities in the world on a space program.

In this episode you will hear about: stargazing; Al Sadeem Space Observatory (and how to get there); Emirati women and astronomy; how the loss of a younger brother changes the path forever; experiencing 9/11 as an Emirati student in the USA; being the eldest and running a family business in the UAE when your boss is… your father; watching a country’s transformation during one’s lifetime; spirituality and the Universe.

emiratistories.com/07-thabet-the-stargazer 

About Emirati Stories Emirati Stories is an audio podcast that gives you a chance to learn about the Emirati society and culture through a series of individual stories and personal interviews. It is hosted and produced in Abu Dhabi by former journalist Nathalie Gillet

As a child, Talal Salem Al Sabiri, now a 40-year old poet from the emirate of Sharjah, used to go to the sea with his father for diving and fishing trips. Those moments still inspire him today. His beginnings as a poet started with music, playing oud with his brothers, and later playing with words and rhythms. In this episode, Talal speaks about Arabic and Gulf poetry, about morning inspiration, level of consciousness, about Sharjah, his father, and how a trip to Nigeria changed the perspective.

Hanady Al Hashmi, 31, discovered a passion for mountains and mountaineering five years ago, after starting to hike through... the desert. Since then she has climbed four of the world’s Seven Summits - the highest peaks of each continent, switching between Abu Dhabi's heat and sandstorms, and icy weather on the world's most impressive glaciers. Last year Hanady became the first Emirati woman to make it to the top of Denali, North America’s highest mountain.

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Emirati Stories is a podcast dedicated to introducing the Emirati culture and society to a foreign audience, via personal interviews and subjective angles. Episode 04 was recorded in Abu Dhabi and hosted by Nathalie Gillet.

Show notes and pictures are available on: www.emiratistories.com/04-hanady-al-hashmi

Featured song:"Film III", by Jorane

Jalal Luqman’s name is known today both locally and internationally. But his journey to becoming the UAE’s first digital artist in the 1990s was not a walk in the park. Although his passion for computers and art showed at a very young age, reality forced him to make other professional choices first. After a dramatic event in his personal life that turned him from wealthy to poor overnight, while he was studying business in the USA, he managed to finance and complete his degree by doing blue-collar jobs - while secretly following art classes in the evening.

Jalal’s art is sometimes qualified as dark, and has gone through different phases, using a large variety of media.

A few weeks ago he published his first novel: The Armagondas – Volume 1, an epic fantasy graphic novel.

During this interview, Jalal Luqman goes back to this long journey and remembers life as a child, when his father worked as one of the first lawyers in the country.

Episode 03 Webpage: http://emiratistories.com/03-jalal-luqman

Music: Getting Older, by Martjin de Boer - featuring Javolenus