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SUMMARY:Preserving Culture in Conflict
DESCRIPTION:As wars are waged across the globe and peoples and nations face existential threat\, how do communities hold on to their culture\, their art\, language\, stories and histories? How do they preserve all that holds them together in the face of devastation and in exile. \nIn the lead up to Refugee Week\, writers from some of the worst affected regions of the recent past and present day come together to discuss their own hopes\, ideas and endeavours to hold onto the foundations of their cultural heritage and identities. In conversation with Sudanese author and activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied are: Eritrean Ethiopian novelist Sulaiman Addonia\, whose most recent novel\, The Seers\, explores the refugee experience and the healing power of art; Ukrainian writer\, historian and Director of the Ukrainian Institute London Dr Olesya Khromeychuk; and Palestinian writer Ahmed Alnaouq\, whose project and book We Are Not Numbers collects the writing and everyday stories of Palestinians in Gaza. \nSulaiman Addonia FRSL is an Eritrean-Ethiopian-British novelist who came to London as an underage unaccompanied refugee. His other novels include The Consequences of Love and Silence is My Mother Tongue\, which have been shortlisted for awards including the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the African Literary Award from MoAD in San Francisco. His essays appear in Lit Hub\, Granta\, Freeman’s\, The New York Times\, De Standaard and Passa Porta. He lives in Brussels where he founded the Creative Writing Academy for Refugees & Asylum Seekers and the Asmara-Addis Literary Festival in Exile (AALFIE).  \nAhmed Alnaouq grew up in Gaza where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from al-Azher University. Ahmed was the inspiration for\, and original project manager of\, We Are Not Numbers. He later won the UK’s prestigious Chevening scholarship and earned a master’s degree in international journalism from Leeds University. He also serves as advocacy and outreach officer for the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. Ahmed’s writings have been published by the Gulf News\, New Arab\, and other websites. He is currently based in London. \nDr Olesya Khromeychuk is a historian and writer. She is the author of The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister (2022). Khromeychuk has written for The New York Times\, The New York Review of Books\, The Guardian\, Der Spiegel\, Prospect and The New Statesman\, and has delivered a TED talk on ‘What the World Can Learn From Ukraine’s Fight for Democracy’. She has taught the history of East-Central Europe at several British universities and is currently the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London. \nYassmin Abdel-Magied is a Sudanese diaspora writer\, broadcaster and award-winning social advocate. Her books include two middle grade novels\, You Must Be Layla and Listen\, Layla\, which she is now adapting for screen\, and Talking About a Revolution\, an urgent critique of contemporary culture and Stand Up and Speak Out Against Racism\, a practical guide for children. Her critically acclaimed essays have been published widely\, including in the bestselling It’s Not About The Burqa and The New Daughters of Africa. She is a Trustee of The London Library. \nTickets: \n\n\n\n\nStandard Tickets – £12.50Excluding fees\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nStandard Tickets for under 30s/unwaged – £8 Excluding fees\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon Library Member Tickets – £10 Excluding fees\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLondon Library Member Tickets for under 30s/unwaged – £6 Excluding fees\n\n\n\n\n\nBOOK HERE \nBooks by all the speakers will be available to buy at the event and online from Hatchards. \nNB This event will take place in person at The London Library. Doors (and the bar) will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.  \nPlease see the Library’s  Event Access Guidelines before you arrive. \nLondon Library events are subject to Terms & Conditions
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/preserving-culture-in-conflict/
LOCATION:London Library\, 14 St James’s Square\, London SW1Y 4LG
CATEGORIES:Literature & Spoken Word,London Refugee Week,Refugee Week
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250629T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250629T160000
DTSTAMP:20260422T162503
CREATED:20250520T071030Z
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SUMMARY:Babylon Albion
DESCRIPTION:A new voice on nature and belonging\, writer and artist Dalia Al-Dujaili delves into the layered ties between land\, myth and identity. \n\n‘Whoever said nature is still has never watched the seasons migrate.’ \nA lyrical and vivid new work\, Babylon Albion offers a poetic reflection on belonging – not only to a place or a people\, but to the stories that bind them together. \nDrawing from Arab and Islamic mythology alongside English folklore and the Christian pastoral tradition\, Al-Dujaili moves between the real and the mythical – from date palms to oak trees\, from Lamassu to unicorns – inviting us to rethink how we connect with place and with the living world around us. \nIt is\, in many ways\, a love letter – to Britain\, to Iraq and to the earth we all share. It gestures towards a different kind of nativeness: one shaped by layers\, by openness\, and by the restless hum of history\, myth\, and movement. \n\n\nDalia Al-Dujaili is an Iraqi-British writer\, editor and producer based in London. She is the online editor of The British Journal of Photography. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian\, Dazed\, GQ and more. She is the founder of The Road to Nowhere Magazine and in 2023 she was the Producer of Refugee Week. She holds an MA Hons in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. \nSaqi Books is a leading independent publishing house of trade and academic books on the Middle East and North Africa. Founded in London in 1983\, but with its roots in Lebanon\, Saqi’s publishing programme has led to a rigorous reassessment of Arab cultural heritage. Saqi has been at the forefront of establishing Middle Eastern culture in the UK and beyond for more than four decades. \nSaqi’s publishing – encompassing art\, photography and cookery books\, language\, literature and philosophy\, history and current affairs and much more – is recognised all over the world. They offer an independent platform for writers and artists from all places and cultures. Their authors have attained international prominence not only for the quality of their prose\, but for their authoritative and innovative contributions to public debate. \nSaqi was awarded the British Book Industry Award for Diversity in Literature\, the IPG Diversity Award and the Arab British Culture and Society award. \nTickets: £10 +£3.50 booking fee. Concessions 25%. \nBOOK HERE. \nIn partnership with Southbank Centre and Saqi Books. Part of Refugee Week 2025.
URL:https://counterpoints.org.uk/event/babylon-albion/
LOCATION:Purcell Room\, Queen Elizabeth Hall\, Southbank Centre\, London SE1 8XX
CATEGORIES:Literature & Spoken Word,London Refugee Week,Refugee Week
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