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

  • Policies and Strategies for Tourism Development in the MENA Region (OS)Show video

    Policies and Strategies for Tourism Development in the MENA Region (OS)

    Casa Árabe and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have organized this fourth edition of a ministerial round table discussion on “Tourism Development Policies and Strategies in the MENA Region: Sustaining Growth through Shocks,” with the support of IFEMA and Fitur 2016, as part of the Fitur International Tourism Trade Fair of 2016. The debate taking place analyzed current trends and short-terms prospects for tourism in the region -within the context of a regional state of turmoil and the persistent uncertainty about world economic prospects-, as well as the strategies and measures to be implemented in order to improve security in the tourism industry, to accelerate and strengthen the sector’s recovery and sustained growth, to promote the competitiveness of tourist destinations and to promote investments. This year, participating in the debate for the first time were the Ministers of Tourism of Algeria, Jordan and Sudan, in addition to the Tourism Ministers of Morocco, Lebanon and Palestine. The event was officially opened by the Secretary General of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ignacio Ybáñez Rubio, the Director General of Turespaña, Marta Blanco Quesada, and Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/policies-and-strategies-for-tourism-development-in-the-mena-region
    Published at 20 27,,, 16 2016
  • The Stars of Sidi Moumen (FRENCH)Show video

    The Stars of Sidi Moumen (FRENCH)

    Visual artist and writer Mahi Binebine presented this cultural project to fight against radicalization in Morocco. Sidi Moumen, on the periphery of Casablanca, is sadly known as the neighborhood where the young kamikazes who carried out the terrorist attacks in that city on May 16, 2003 grew up. However, ten years later, it is also in this neighborhood that families of the terrorists’ victims, as well as the families of the kamikazes themselves, were able to meet for the first time, at the initiative of the Ali Zaoua Foundation, during a debate over the fight against radicalization and the paths towards forgiveness. Those responsible for this unusual event were the filmmaker Nabil Ayouch and the writer and visual artist Mahi Binebine. Moved by the need to fight against radicalization and build bridges between the inhabitants of disadvantaged neighborhoods in Moroccan cities and the rest of the people, these two intellectuals created the Ali Zaoua Foundation in 2009. Convinced that this connection can be built through the arts and culture, the foundation has started up several initiatives to allow youths who are socially excluded to express themselves through channels other than violence and to discover spaces for dialogue. The Stars of Sidi Moumen is precisely one of these initiatives. It is a cultural center set up in the neighborhood, where youth training is provided in the fields of art, dance, theater, etc. It is also a meeting point with the rest of the people in the city of Casablanca, because it regularly hosts shows and activities put on with the cooperation of Moroccan and international performers and artists. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-stars-of-sidi-moumen
    Published at 01 27,,, 16 2016
  • Today’s Arab comics as seen by their authorsShow video

    Today’s Arab comics as seen by their authors

    As a complement to the exhibition “Pens and Cartoons: Arab comics in motion,” two representatives of the vibrant, cutting-edge scene of comics and graphic novels in the Arab world give this talk: Lina Ghaibeh, an illustrator and professor at the American University of Beirut, and Issam Smiri, a graphic designer, illustrator and author of comics. Through a dialogue guided by the exhibition’s curator, Pedro Rojo, we get a first-hand account about the details in the creative process which these artists follow, the environment in which these works are produced and circulate within and around Arab countries, and the local audiences’ viewpoints and opinions on these stories. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/today’s-arab-comics-as-seen-by-their-authors
    Published at 45 27,,, 16 2016
  • The Resolution on the Partition of Palestine and Its Consequences: from 1947 to the present (ARABIC)Show video

    The Resolution on the Partition of Palestine and Its Consequences: from 1947 to the present (ARABIC)

    On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, this conference was given by Mustafa Kabha. In his presentation, Kabha, a history professor at the Open University of Israel, was accompanied by Mussa Amer Odeh, head of the Diplomatic Mission of Palestine in Spain, and Pedro Villena, the General Director of Casa Árabe. The conference dealed with United Nations Resolution 181, adopted on November 29, 1947, in which the partition of Palestine into two states was decided, on the basis of recommendations made by the Special Palestine Commission. Through a historical focus, the consequences of that decision will be examined throughout the course of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from 1947 to date, as well as analyzing its in becoming part of the foundation for a future resolution of the conflict. The event will be held within the framework of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/international-day-of-solidarity-with-the-palestinian-people#13566
    Published at 42 03,,, 15 2015
  • The Syrian refugee crisis: response and management by neighboring countriesShow video

    The Syrian refugee crisis: response and management by neighboring countries

    This round table discussion, titled “The Regional Dimension of the Refugee Crisis in Syria (II): Response and management by neighboring countries,” is the second in a series of two encounters organized by Casa Árabe to discuss this matter. At the first, which took place on November 3, the refugee crisis was analyzed from a regional perspective, while also examining the socio-economic impact of the crisis and humanitarian aid. The goal of this new gathering is to analyze the way in which neighboring countries are dealing with this situation and the measures which they are implementing to find a solution. Participating in the event will be Omer Onhon, the Ambassador of Turkey in Spain; Hala Helou, an advisor to the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs on humanitarian topics and international relations; Nayef Faraj, an advisor to the Embassy of Jordan in Spain, and Rafael de Prado, head of the Office of Humanitarian Action, attending as a substitute for the AECID. The event will be moderated by Miguel Ángel de Frutos, an ambassador and international advisor for Casa Árabe. At the beginning of the round table discussion, an excerpt of the film “Hany’s Story” will be shown. It was produced and directed by Zahra Mackaoui, in a co-production between the UNHCR and Channel 4 (plot summary below). More info: http://en.casaarabe.es/event/the-syrian-refugee-crisis-response-and-management-by-neighboring-countries
    Published at 07 03,,, 15 2015