We hold " The grand journey of engineering and technology" workshop for young Syrian refugees on the 5th of August 2017. This is the third session of the project “Rethinking and Rebuilding Social Cohesion: Engaging Young Syrian Refugees Project”.
Our Research & Policy Coordinator Dr. Yasmine Nahlawi attended a roundtable discussion in London on 5 August hosted by the Danish Refugee Council on the topic of durable solutions for Syrian refugees.
A group of 160 Syrian civil society organisations, including Rethink Rebuild Society, sent a letter to UN Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura on 2 August calling on him to ensure that 'the Geneva process serves the interests of Syrians, first and foremost, and is not driven entirely by international actors.' The letter furthermore called on de Mistura to engage Syrian
We had a workshop at our centre on Monday 31st July. The workshop was delivered by Made in Syria, in partnership with RR. The workshop covered how to sell on Ebay, the advantages of using PayPal and options for delivery. A useful, practical workshop for new Syrian arrivals to the UK. Many thanks to Mr Mohammad Agha from Made In Syria for delivering this workshop.
We attended an event to celebrate the general election victory of Labour's Shadow Minister for Immigration Afzal Khan MP on 31 July at the British Muslim Heritage Centre. Afzal ran against George Galloway to win the Manchester Gorton seat after previously representing the North West as a Member of European Parliament.
We had a meeting with the Amnesty team in Manchester on Monday 24th July. Dr Haytham Alhamwi attended the meeting and spoke about his experiences of the Syrian conflict, including his time in Assad's prisons. Thank you to Amnesty for inviting us to speak at their meeting.
As our final 'Celebrating Syria' event on Sunday 23rd July we had Syria's most celebrated contemporary novelist, Khaled Khalifa, address the audience in Manchester, telling them about his experience of writing under oppression, his perspective on the Syrian Revolution and his projections for the future of Syria.
We had the perfect finish to our two week long 'Celebrating Syria' festival, on Sunday 23rd July, with a lively afternoon of Syrian tradition and culture. We had delicious Syrian home made food, Syrian coffee, Syrian quiz, Quran recital, Arabic poetry, Maté tea, Mawlid singing, Dabkeh dancing and much more! A very enjoyable, happy afternoon.
On Saturday 22nd July, we hosted the London Syrian Ensemble, who are a collective of some of Syria’s finest musicians. The Ensemble includes both newly arrived and long-term UK residents who either studied or taught in the eminent Damascus Conservatoire. They bring the sounds of Syria through a diverse repertoire of classical and traditional music.
We hosted a calligraphy workshop on Saturday 22nd July with the wonderful Abdullah Al-Anezi. Abdullah is a self-taught calligrapher practising Arabic and Western calligraphy. In this hands-on workshop, we learnt to write basic letters and forms of classic Arabic calligraphy using traditional tools such as bamboo pens, coated paper, and ink.