1. Conferences and debates

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Lecture by the Gazan journalist Wael Al Dahdouh at Casa Árabe in Cordoba Play

Lecture by the Gazan journalist Wael Al Dahdouh at Casa Árabe in Cordoba

Published at 16 04,,, 24 2024
The Gazan journalist Wael Al Dahdouh, head of the Al Jazeera office in the city of Gaza and a point of reference for Palestinian and Arab world journalists, will be giving a conference on Monday, April 8 at Casa Árabe's headquarters in Cordoba. The session, organised by the Chair of Conflict Resolution at the University of Cordoba with the support of the Cordoba Provincial Council, will take place on the occasion of Al Dahdouh being awarded the 17th Julio Anguita Parrado International Journalism Prize in the city of Cordoba. The session can be followed live on Youtube in Spanish and Arabic. The jury of the 17th Julio Anguita Parrado International Journalism Prize, organised by the Andalusian Union of Journalists, meeting at the Rectorate of the University of Cordoba, has unanimously decided to award this prize to the Gazan journalist Wael Al Dahdouh. With this award, as well as distinguishing Wael Al Dahdouh's professional career and commitment to the defence of human rights, the jury wishes to give explicit recognition to Gazan journalists, who are suffering extreme violence in the Israeli offensive. In this regard, the jury highlighted that 75% of the journalists killed in 2023 worldwide were from Gaza. Wael Al Dahdouh became known worldwide as a result of his coverage for Al Jazeera after his family was intentionally bombed by Israel on 25 October 2023, killing his wife, son, daughter and 18-month-old grandson. Al Dahdou was in Gaza City on the same day to report on the latest developments when he was informed of his family's death. Hours after that attack, al-Dahdou was back on the air, despite the pain, this time to be interviewed by a colleague, just as he had interviewed so many others before. Dahdouh was also injured in December, when an Israeli strike hit a school in Khan Younis where he and his colleague, Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa, were reporting. Abu Daqqa was killed in the attack. On 7 January, Dahdouh's eldest son, Hamza Dahdouh, also a journalist and cameraman for the Qatari television network, was with other journalists on a road between Khan Younis and Rafah when he was killed by Israeli drone strikes. Just a day before his death, Hamza had shared a post on X praising his father's perseverance. "You are patient, so don't despair." Wael Al Dahdou has since become an icon of the resistance of the Palestinian population of Gaza and how journalism has been a key element in showing the resilience and dignity of a people suffering a massacre unprecedented in history. They call him "Al-Jabal", which in Arabic means "the mountain", for standing tall as tragedy descends on him in the course of the war. Al Dahdouh, 53, was born and raised in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood of Gaza City. He comes from a Palestinian farming family, according to Al Jazeera. He was still in high school in 1988 when he was arrested by Israeli forces for his involvement in the first Palestinian intifada that broke out in Gaza before spreading to other Palestinian territories. He received his high school diploma inside prison. After spending seven years in Israeli prisons, Al Dahdouh graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza in 1998 with a degree in journalism and media. He tried to travel abroad to complete higher studies, but Israel repeatedly prevented him from leaving Gaza. Eventually, he was able to enter Al-Quds University in Abu Dis in the West Bank, where he obtained a master's degree in Regional Studies in 2007. Dahdouh worked for several local media outlets, including the daily Al-Quds, the Voice of Palestine radio channel and the Sahar satellite channel. In 2003 he joined regional broadcasters, working briefly for Al-Arabiya before joining Al Jazeera. Since 2004 he has reported for the pan-Arab network and runs its Gaza bureau. Dahdouh has reported extensively during each successive Israeli war against the besieged enclave. In 2013, he received the Peace Through Media award at the International Media Awards in London. Photo: Wael Al Dahdouh

ALL VIDEOS IN THIS CATEGORY

  • The Iraq debacleShow video

    The Iraq debacle

    Unity, federalism, caliphate or partition? Several international experts analyzed each of these options. The event included interventions by Hayder el-Khoei, a researcher at Chatham House; Kawa Hassan, a researcher at HIVOS and the Carnegie Middle East Centre, and Mohammad Ali Shabani, a researcher at Cambridge University. It was moderated by Karim Hauser, who is responsible for Casa Árabe’s Governance Area. It was part of the international seminar "Iraq at a crossroads", organized by Casa Árabe, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and FRIDE.
    Published at 01 11,,, 14 2014
  • Arabic culture in the Spanish languageShow video

    Arabic culture in the Spanish language

    Video of the conference held on September 25, 2014 at the Casa Árabe headquarters in Madrid on the occasion of the presentation of the Sheikh Zayed International Book Awards. The event included the participation of Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed International Book Award; Saeed Madan, Director of the Sheikh Zayed International Book Award; Professor Pedro Martínez Montávez, and Eduardo López Busquets, the General Director of Casa Árabe. This year, the Sheikh Zayed International Book Awards include the category of “Spanish” for the first time ever, within the section of “Arab Culture in Other Languages.” When the conference and presentation came to an end, an “Eastern Flamenco” Arab oud and guitar concert was held, with a performance that explored the common roots shared by flamenco and Arab music. In terms of its melodics, both of these types of music share the same basic scale, which is known as the “Phrygian dominant scale” (the Kurdish hijaz), which evokes the magic of the Middle East and its influence on flamenco music. At the same time, in terms of rhythm, one can find common beats and variations between them, including the rumba and baladi, or the fandango and chaabi music (typical of North Africa). David Durán Gil, a guitarist, and Hames Bitar, who plays the Arab oud, undertook a dialogue based on “Taqsim” (improvisation), in which each musician demonstrated his talent by playing freely with different scales and styles, producing a magical atmosphere that mixed two cultures.
    Published at 17 26,,, 14 2014
  • The Cordoba ForumShow video

    The Cordoba Forum

    Presentation of “The Cordoba Forum”, held on October 27, 2014 at the Casa Árabe headquarters in Madrid, given by Jacques Moreillon, Vice-President of Foreign Affairs for the Paradigma Córdoba Foundation.The Cordoba Forum is a concept proposed by the Paradigma Córdoba Foundation and by the authorities of the city of Cordoba. It is based on the nexus which universal awareness creates between Cordoba and a time of tolerance in Al-Andalus amongst the three great monotheistic religions.The goal of the Forum is to bring together approximately one hundred international institutions year after year in Cordoba, each from its own specialized field, so as to contribute to the co-existence of ideals, efforts and means. This repetition of meetings, topics and intermediaries all in the same location should bear its fruits in the form of a “Cordoba spirit,” a network of goodwill and a universal dynamic for promoting co-existence.
    Published at 12 26,,, 14 2014
  • Jerusalem within the framework of World War IShow video

    Jerusalem within the framework of World War I

    This conference by Roberto Mazza focused on "The Diaries of the Count of Ballobar". It took place the 22nd of October 2014. Roberto Mazza, a History professor at Western Illinois University and a Middle East scholar who specializes in the period lasting from the Ottoman Empire to the British Mandate, focused his conference on the figure of Antonio de la Cierva, the Count of Ballobar.
    Published at 41 26,,, 14 2014
  • La escasez de agua en Palestina y Jordania / The Water Shortage in Palestine and JordanShow video

    La escasez de agua en Palestina y Jordania / The Water Shortage in Palestine and Jordan

    Conferencia celebrada el 8 de abril de 2013 en la sede de Casa Árabe en Madrid bajo el título "Afrontar la escasez de agua en los Territorios Palestinos y Jordania: el uso de las fuentes de agua no convencionales en la agricultura". El acto contó con la participación de Abdellatif M.A Mohamed, vicedirector de la Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) en Territorios Palestinos; Basem Shamoun, director de Proyectos de la Jordan Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) de Jordania; Isabel Martín, responsable del Área de Calidad del Agua del Centro de las Nuevas Tecnologías del Agua; e Inmaculada Paniagua, jefe de área de Agua y Saneamiento del Departamento de Cooperación Sectorial de la Agencia Española de Cooperación internacional al Desarrollo. Más información: http://www.casaarabe.es/noticias-arabes/show/la-escasez-de-agua-en-palestina-y-jordania On Monday, April 8 in Madrid, a round table discussion was held on the topic of "Facing the Water Shortage in the Palestinian Territories and Jordan: the use of unconventional water sources in agriculture." The Fundación Promoción Social de la Cultura has organized this round table discussion of the problems related with water shortages in the Middle East, and more specifically in Jordan and Palestine. For more information: http://en.casaarabe.es/news/the-water-shortage-in-palestine-and-jordan
    Published at 15 15,,, 14 2014