Mediterranian women weaving resiliency: The value of Peace
From 16 to 20 September 2024, women originally from Palestine, Syria and Lebanon will meet for one week at Faberllull to reflect on peace, based on their personal experiences. They are women with backgrounds in art, academia or journalism, Some of them live in the Middle East and others now live in Europe and some, in Catalonia. They are different ages and have experienced quite different political and social situations.
The residency will foster the right conditions to make this meet-up a healing experience for all the participants, as the impact of the war and conflicts in these three countries is particularly raw. So, the programme will include activities that help the women forge bonds and build safe spaces where they can share their anxieties and pain, and listen to each other.
This is the first time an event has been organised to bring together women from these three countries. The goal is to promote the women’s professional work and activism, particularly for peace. Highlighting every-day experiences, the goal is to get away from only allowing so-called “experts” to speak about the conflicts.
It is organised by Faberllull residence and the ICIP. This action is in line with the ICIP work area “Memory, coexistence and reconciliation“, which in 2024 has made a firm commitment to highlighting the importance of diasporas in building Peace.
The participants
Nadine Feghaly Malkoun, aka ‘viola’
Nadine is a Barcelona-based Lebanese illustrator and artivist, utilizing art as a form of resistance and activism. Her artworks serve as a poetic expression, addressing a spectrum of personal, social, and political issues, including the impacts of trauma and wars, while advocating for ecofeminism, animal rights, environmentalism and social justice. Nadine believes in the profound power of art to sensitize, inspire action, and challenge systemic inequalities.
Nadia Harhash
Nadia is a writer, novelist, researcher, and blogger from Palestine. She is also a Human Rights activist and a lawyer. Nadia is currently a PhD candidate in Philosophy at UAB-Barcelona. She received her MA in Jerusalem Studies from AQU-Jerusalem and in Islamic Philosophy from FU-Berlin.
Nadia has written articles for different media outlets, hosted a TV show, and has several published novels and studies. She has researched and published widely on Gender, Culture and Religion issues. She is known for her in-depth analysis of the Palestine-Israel situation and is currently working as a country program manager at HEKS-EPER.
Zeina Shahla
Journalist and independent researcher from Syria. She works for a number of local, Arab and international websites, and writes on social, cultural and environmental issues. She is the editor of Environment section in Raseef22, one of the biggest independent media outlets in the Arab world. In 2023, she started her own cultural project, “Turath Masmou3” or “Audible Heritage”, a podcast about culture and heritage.
Yara Harake
A Lebanese human rights activist. With a master’s degree in Peace, Conflict and Development, El Harake turns a critical eye on the dichotomy of peace and conflict, seeing conflicts as opportunities to transform society for good. She integrates activism with art, journalism and personal storytelling. With her blog on women’s bodies and experiences, Yara shares her perspective as a Lebanese woman from the Swana region, a migrant and activist fighting for safe, creative spaces.
Salam Alaridi
An experienced international development professional. She has contributed to programs focused on stability, inclusiveness, and promoting peaceful coexistence in conflict areas, specifically Syria. As a Grants Manager with the USAID/OTI Syria Regional Program in Turkey, Salam worked on programs to promote moderate values in Syria. She also worked with the Syrian Center for Media in Paris. Currently, she consults for Musawa-Woman’s Study Center, focusing on developing feminist knowledge and enhancing women’s participation across sectors..
Jana Bou Matar
A theatre-maker who performs, directs and writes for the theatre to challenge social and political concepts in her environment. She is a theatre studies graduate from the Lebanese University (2021) and a Master’s student at Saint Joseph University. She wrote and directed her first theatre performance, Meaning Making Cocktail, produced by Zoukak Theatre. It was shown at Monnot Theater (2021) and Zoukak Theatre (2022) and represented Lebanon at Carthage Festival (2022).
Rasha Al Jundi
Documentary photographer and Palestinian visual narrator. Raised in the United Arab Emirates, she then moved to Lebanon to pursue higher studies, where she volunteered at the Lebanese Red Cross and worked with a local organization that coordinated rural development programs.
Between 2009 and 2021, she worked with various non-governmental organizations in the Middle East and Africa. Her work is generally a social documentary trajectory. It has been exhibited in Amman, Beirut, London, New York, and Tokyo.
Mervat Alramli
Palestinian, born in the Gaza Strip in 1992. She moved to Italy at the age of 12. She studied Theater Set Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Urbino and earned a master’s degree in Teaching and Communication of Artistic Heritage at the Academy of Bologna.
She has worked as a designer and facilitator of artistic and multidisciplinary workshops in schools. She currently collaborates with several theaters in Spain for the creation of theatrical scripts. As a freelancer, she teaches the Arabic language and promotes Arab culture.
Rehab Mouna Chaker
She is a writer and a translator from Dutch into Arabic. She also founded a feminist online school (Narcis House) for reading, studying and making friendships.