29/07/2020 by Ala’a Baroun, Observer from Kuweit The new restrictions, social distancing, curfews and lockdowns imposed around the world in response to the pandemic highlighted how intangible heritage has a social, economic and psychological role in our lives.  Ala’a Baroun We are living in a time where a pandemic has largely impacted our lives in an incredibly short period of time. The Covid-19 virus has been declared a health emergency at a global level ever as a dangerous and quick-spreading virus. Consequently, several safety measures were taken by countries to contain and slow down the spreading of the virus. Those...

26th June 2020 by Shyrine Ziadeh “It is our folklore, from my culture, my heritage. In the camp in Syria, while I used to dance Dabkeh I was a happy kid… Oh this music! It reminded me of the inner peace I had back then.” Said Israa a lady in her 20’s, during a break from a dabkeh rehearsal, Athens 2018. To be able to wake up in the morning, to go to work in a safe and peaceful place, to have a healthy life, to live under a roof, and being able to live in a country that gives...

Le 09/06/2020 by Sarah Amawi What was Dabke? What was Dabke? Dabka (also spelled dabkeh, dabka, dubki, and with the plural, dabkaat) could be defined as : « a circling folk dance made up of intricate steps and stomps » (Rowe, 2011) [1]. « Once such origin may have developed from Canaanite fertility rites wherein communities joined in the energetic foot stomping dance to scare away malicious spirits, clearing the way for healthy and secure growth of their seedlings. However, the more popularly recognized origin is derived from traditional house-building in the Levant where houses were structured with stone and made with a roof consisting of wood, straw and dirt...