“I am the poem and here are my words for you. I wish I could have told their story to Zayed and Rashid”. These are the lines with which Dubai-based poet and published author, Al Hanouf Mohammed, opened her performance for International Women’s Day at EXPO 2020. She then goes on to pay a powerful poetic tribute to the women of the UAE, their incomparable achievements, and their inspiring spirit. However, it is no ordinary performance that Al Hanouf brings to this stage. Her verses are interspersed with a unique and intriguing chorus voiced by a group of men, chanting in unison at periodic intervals. Watching her strong, confident voice resonate across a raptured audience, as she celebrates Emirati women, and then get echoed by the supportive cries of the Emirati men lined up behind her, is a sight that induces instant goosebumps and makes one marvel at the incredible journey of the UAE’s people over the last two and a half centuries As the world celebrates women on this day, Emirates NBD has made one thing certain – Emirati women have taken the stage and their voices will reverberate loud and clear for a long time to come.