ZIFF is guided by the belief that it is important to build local skills and infrastructure that would ensure beneficial and sustainable social change. From the onset the organisation's work has been discussed and planned with attention being given to its role in Zanzibar, and the function of cultural industries within the development process. The East African linkage through language for example, which makes regional cooperation in cultural production and exchange realistic and necessary. The Dhow region and its significant historical and cultural traditions which define the Indian Ocean basin with Zanzibar as its centre. There was an understanding that ZIFF would reflect the various traditions and expressions that make up Swahili culture of East Africa and the cultures of the Indian Ocean region as a whole which constitutes Dhow culture.
Dhows are the ancient sea-going trade vessels powered by the monsoon winds.
Over centuries they have brought together the cultures of the people from Africa, India, Iran, Pakistan, the Arabic countries and the islands of the Indian Ocean. The dhow has influenced the development, dissemination, and unification of cultures in this region in the spirit of humanism and sharing. It has in fact shaped the collective memory of the region and nurtured its identities. The dhow symbolises our intention to explore and develop our shared heritage and to rebuild the ties that bind peoples and continents together. The concept of Dhow culture being proposed here recognizes cultures in the singular rather than cultures in the plural.