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Subtopics to be discussed at Envision Arabia 2011:
1) Tradition and Art - Art has traditionally played a major role in people’s expression of their culture. In the Arab world, art is a manifestation of an amalgamation of elements both unique and incorporated that has evolved through time. We will explore art in its historical and contemporary roles and seek ways to encourage artistic creativity.
2) The Arabic Language - Despite the number of Arabic speakers worldwide, the language itself has a very marginal and localized role in intellectual and cultural output. Indeed, even locally it seems that the Arabic language is taking a back seat in contemporary usage with regards to studies, business, and social application. We hope to discover the causes of this decline as well as steps that can be taken to revive the language. (Workshop will be held in Arabic.)
3) Cultural Production and Censorship - Censorship, whether originating from government policy, social norms, or personal action, is an impediment to potential cultural production in all of its forms. We seek to explore the prominence of censorship in the Arab world and its effect on the intellectual process.
ADI Society and Culture Chairs: Marie-Jeanne Berger and Manar Ghamian
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Ms. Maryam Eskandari - Speaker and moderator (Tradition and Art: Visual Representation in Islam)
Maryam Eskandari is an architect and artist and has received many prestigious awards: in 2010 Aga Khan Award in Islamic Architecture awarded her with a grant for her work on Muslim women’s spaces in contemporary American mosques, and in 2007 the American Institute of Architects awarded her with the Associate of the year award for commendable architecture and design. Her current touring exhibition: “Sacred Space? (Re) Constructing the Place of Gender in the Space of Religion” executes and documents over 100+ American mosques focusing primarily on issues of Islamic design, gender and space.
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Ms. Suzanne Talhouk - Speaker and moderator (The Arabic Language: The Role of Media)
Born during the Lebanese Civil War in the town of Eitat, Suzanne Talhouk grew into a strong, outspoken and resilient woman. After finishing her Master’s in Physics, Suzanne pursued her passion of poetry and released two collections of peoms. Dismayed by Arabs' lack of power during the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2008, Suzanne saw the Arabic language as medium to unite and empower the Arab world. As such, Suzanne launched Feil Amer, an organization that aims to preserve the Arabic language and reinstate the pride young Arabs feel towards their language. Feil Amer has already had its first "We are Our Language" festival in Lebanon that witnessed the participation of many Arab celebrities in support of this noble cause.
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Mr. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin - Master of ceremonies and moderator (Cultural Production and Censorship: Free Press and Freedom of Expression)
Ahmed is digital producer and co-host of “The Stream”, a new online community with a daily TV show on Al Jazeera that taps into the extraordinary potential of social media to help us understand the world's untold stories. Soon after graduating with honors from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Ahmed began teaching New Media courses as an Adjunct Professor, including 'The Bronx Beat' and 'New Media Skills'. In 2008, his Master’s Thesis earned him a Webby Award for “Defining Middle Ground: The Next Generation of Muslim New Yorkers”. Ahmed's work has been featured in a series of online publications including Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, PBS's FRONTLINE, TimeOut Magazine, and Washington Week.
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