“Youth Cultural Clubs” New Initiative by The Writers Union

The establishment of youth cultural clubs at the branches of the Arab Writers Union in the governorates is part of a long-term project to incubate and care for young literary talents and to curb the phenomenon of private literary forums whose platforms in the real and virtual worlds promote productions without ambition.

Regarding the purpose of establishing these clubs, Dr. Muhammad Al-Hourani, head of the Writers Union, stated that: “It is part of a project that reflects the Union’s interest in young literary talents by giving them cards as friends of the Union’s branches in order to print their products and prepare them later for their placement in the Union.” These clubs will promote the cultural and the literary scene and the ascension of the pulpits by some who do not possess the elements of language and culture”.

At the same time, the member of the Executive Office and the editor-in-chief of “The Literary Stand magazine” Falak Hosariah believed that launching these young clubs is a necessity and duty of the Union foundation because it is primarily concerned with sponsoring every literary talent instead of leaving this matter to non-specialists.

The interest in the literary talents of young people is a guarantee of a national cultural future. This was confirmed by Dr. Ibrahim Zaarour, Head of the Damascus Book Branch, pointing out that youth clubs will launch various activities of a cultural nature and will constitute a point of polarization at the level of Damascus as a whole.

The poet Ibrahim Abbas Yassin, head of the Writers Union branch in Daraa, spoke about the importance of establishing the youth club in the governorate in terms of enhancing the presence of young writers in the literary movement within the union’s mission as a whole to support young writers and develop and refine talented skills.

The poet Mujib Al-Sousi, Secretary of the Idlib Branch of the Writers Union, pointed out the importance of this step because, according to his opinion, all opportunities are missed by those who drop out of the cultural milieu, intentionally or unintentionally, based on the role of culture and what it constitutes of a national identity that reflects the level of society and the extent of its development.

The formation of young cultural clubs comes as a long-awaited dream, as described by the poet and journalist Ali Al-Dandah. At the beginning of their journey with literature, he and his companions were looking for a cultural entity to take care of their talents, considering that this project strengthens the connection of the young element to an institution that some of them thought was the preserve of a certain age group.

The head of the Palestinian Club in Aleppo, the poet Mahmoud Ali Said, believed that these forums guarantee the protection of the educated youth group from obstacles that may affect their literary ambitions and make them more attached to the homeland and its most important issues, as well as allowing the literary competition among them through the establishment of competitions and increasing the public attendance of the Union’s activities by inviting young people’s friends and families to attend the activities.