About the Year of Tolerance
How it began
The Year of Tolerance was declared in 2019 by the President of the United Arab Emirates as a national initiative to position the country as a global reference point for tolerance. It built directly on the founding spirit of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose well-known appeal — that human beings, created by a Creator who forgives, ought to forgive one another — gave the initiative its moral framing.
The declaration was not a single calendar year of events. It established a permanent institutional ambition: that tolerance should be a structural value of the UAE, supported by laws, by education, by culture, and by visible everyday practice. The Supreme National Committee for the Year of Tolerance, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, oversaw the rollout and continues to inform follow-on work today.
Our mission
To highlight the human and civilisational value of tolerance, and to broaden the pathways of dialogue, understanding and meaningful connection between people of every background and belief.
Our vision
A society in which tolerance is a core value — woven into education, governance and public life — and where the connection between human beings, across cultures and faiths, is celebrated as a vital strength.
Our objectives
- Embed the values of tolerance, coexistence and open communication in every sector of society — government, schools, workplaces, media and community.
- Showcase the UAE's lived model of tolerance to the world as a contemporary expression of enduring human virtues.
- Strengthen the culture of tolerance through forward-thinking legislation, inclusive policy and clear institutional commitments.
- Encourage openness to global cultures — curiosity, respect, and the recognition of shared humanity, especially among the next generation.
What followed 2019
The momentum from 2019 produced more than a thousand initiatives in its first six months alone, across community, education, workplace, culture, media, policy and the UAE's international engagement. In the years since, much of that work has matured into permanent infrastructure: a dedicated ministry, the global Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi in 2019, the opening of the Abrahamic Family House on Saadiyat Island in 2023, and an ongoing programme of summits, scholarships and educational partnerships that carry the founding intent forward.
Why it matters
Tolerance, in the UAE's framing, is not passive — it is not merely the absence of conflict. It is an active practice: of curiosity instead of suspicion, of dialogue instead of withdrawal, of building shared space instead of retreating into separate ones. The Year of Tolerance set out to make that practice visible, to give it institutional weight, and to invite every resident of the country — and every visitor — to take part in it.