Launch of celebration of Syrian Culture Days under title of Heritage and Creativity
The celebration of the Syrian Culture Days, entitled “Heritage and Creativity,” kicked off on Wednesday at the Opera Theater at Dar Al-Assad for Culture and Arts in Damascus to mark the 64th anniversary of the founding of the Ministry of Culture.
The celebration includes more than 162 cultural activities in the cinematic, theatrical, intellectual and heritage fields throughout Syrian geography.
During the opening speech, Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mushawah, said: “Today, as every year, we celebrate the anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry of Culture. Sixty-four years of sincere and tireless work in uncovering the treasures of our great civilizational heritage, protecting it from distortion and tampering, and preserving it for future generations have been passed. She underlined the relentless effort in building the basic foundation in human civilization, which is the human being with his civilizational affiliation, his wealth of knowledge and the sophistication of his expressions.”
The Minister of Culture referred to the activities and events carried out by the Ministry and its affiliated entities to achieve the national plans, goals and programs for building thought among children and adolescents and to build a fortified and conscious generation.
The Minister pointed out that the creativity of adults is also of great importance . She referred to the state’s appreciation and encouragement awards to national literary, plastic and musical competitions, which will become an annual tradition.
The opening ceremony included honoring a number of Syrian creators, namely Maestro Samir Kwifati, artist Shukran Murtaja, writer Abdel Karim Nassif, director Mamoun al-Khatib and plastic artist Nabil al-Samman, in addition to presenting dance paintings, musical and lyrical pieces from the original Syrian heritage, and ballet dance segments for children.
In a statement to SANA, musician Samir Kwifati noted that culture in Syria, despite all the difficulties, has a place and presence, pointing out that the honor increases his ambition to provide more and work constantly for the better. He dedicated the honor to the soul of his wife, the late Syrian singer Mayada Bsilis, who had a great role in his reaching of this place.
The plastic artist Nabil Al-Samman highlighted the role of culture in expressing the identity of Syria, stressing the need to recall the important role of culture in showing identity and civilization, considering that artists are witnesses to this time in presenting the correct image of Syria.
The artist Shukran Murtaja expressed her happiness to be honored within her country, specifically on the Syrian Culture Day, pointing out that honoring the artist is a tribute to culture and art that express the civilization and history of people. She noted that the great presence achieved by Syrian drama and cinema and the honor it received in international festivals is evidence of its continuous successes.
Theatrical director and actor Mamoun Al-Khatib considered that culture is the image of the real Syria that we are trying to perpetuate through theater, and which is known for its seriousness in all kinds of culture.
For his part, Abdel-Karim Nassif, editor-in-chief of Al-Maarifa magazine, expressed his happiness as a writer with the honoring ceremony of the Ministry of Culture, because literature needs constant care and attention.
Inas Abdulkareem