In the “Hiwar” program, Kabi Latif hosts the Palestinian author, musician and journalist, Nabil Salameh, on the occasion of the first edition of the “Palestinian Culture Days”, which will be held in Polignano (Bari) – Italy from August 4 to 6, 2023 in cooperation with the “Whisper of Heaven” International Culture Organization – Denmark .
Palestinian Culture Days
Nabil Salameh referred to the cooperation with the Hamsa Samaa International Cultural Foundation in Denmark in its first edition of the Palestinian Culture Days to honor Palestinian culture and Mahmoud Darwish in particular, which is an exceptional event dedicated to celebrating Palestinian culture. The event, sponsored by the municipality of Polignano, will take place in Piazza San Benedetto in the historic center of the city, for the first time in the city of Polignano. Nabil Salama, who is supervising this event, a professor of ethnomusicology at the Higher Institute of Music in Italy, added that he is proud to support the Mahmoud Darwish Foundation because of the special meaning of this event dedicated to the great poet.
Balanced Italian and international presence
Nabil Salama, director of this festival, expects a large number of students studying Arabic from universities and colleges. In addition, Italian political figures, such as the former Vice-President of the European Parliament, a prominent human rights body such as Amnesty International, in addition to a group of prominent figures in the field of art and media, and a poetry evening that will include university professors from Italy who studied and translated some of Darwish’s works. He also referred to the presence of an important Palestinian community that managed to settle down and create a kind of human contact with the Italian community. And to the importance of this convergence between Italy and Denmark, Palestine and Lebanon and the fingerprints of the Arab East in Europe..
Rich program
The opening of the square with the memorial plaque dedicated to Darwish, which will be held on August 4, will be a moment of great importance and distinctive significance. There will be exceptional guests who shared a deep friendship with Darwish and contributed to the international dissemination of his work. Among them is the great Lebanese artist Marcel Khalife, who composed many of Darwish’s poems to music, and the famous Lebanese journalist, TV presenter and poet Zahi Wehbe. The festival will include a rich program of meetings, lectures and musical performances to celebrate the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and to better educate the Italian public on the richness of Palestinian culture.
Our culture is our means of resistance
This event represents a vision through which Salameh tries to change the narrative of the Arab world and the narrative of the Palestinian reality from the clutches of superficiality that pays attention to details. It is a mission that Salama Darba pursued since his presence in Italy, a quarter of a century ago, where he tries to convey a message that there is something else, there is poetry, civilization, culture, music that expresses and tells the true story about Palestine and the Arab world..
