This month marks ten years since the start of the Syrian Civil War, an ongoing conflict that has cruelly cut the lives of hundreds of thousands short, and irrevocably changed the course of millions more. An estimated 5.6 million have fled the country over the past decade, mostly to the neighbouring countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, with many settling in camps they’ve since to come to call their permanent homes.
A woman dressed in western clothes and a hijab is a common sight across Europe’s capital cities – a fact now reflected on the catwalk at Milan fashion week.
Halima Aden, a Somali-American model, is fast becoming fashion’s face of 2017, currently stealing the show at fashion week from the catwalk superstar Gigi Hadid.
Activists campaigning to change Lebanon's law on rape have staged a macabre protest on Beirut's famous sea front.
What appeared to be more than 30 white wedding dresses were hung from nooses, strung up between the palm trees.
Lebanese law currently allows a rapist to be exonerated if he marries his victim.
The activists are pressing to have the legislation abolished at an upcoming session of parliament.
Wafaa Bilal's childhood in Iraq was defined by the horrific rule of Saddam Hussein, two wars, a bloody uprising, and time spent interned in chaotic refugee camps in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Bilal eventually made it to the U.S. to become a professor and a successful artist, but when his brother was killed at a U.S. checkpoint in 2005, he decided to use his art to confront those in the comfort zone with the realities of life in a conflict zone.
from "Laugh, O Revolution: Humor in the Egyptian Uprising" by Anna Louie Sussman, in 2011.
Revolutions can be messy. They can be tragic. As long as the Internet is working, they can be tweeted. And, as Egyptians demonstrated during their 18 days of protest, they can also be funny.
On the Internet people only look at pictures of kittens.
British street artist Banksy has posted pictures and video of works made during a trip to the war-torn Gaza Strip.
One shows a figure reminiscent of Rodin’s “The Thinker” — though, set in a still-standing doorway surrounded by nothing but rubble, the figure seems more distraught than contemplative.
Founded in April 2011, Young Women for Change (YWC) is an independent non-profit organization committed to empowering Afghan women and improving their lives through social, economical , political empowerment, participation, awareness and advocacy.
YWC was co-founded by Noorjahan Akbar and Anita Haidary and consists of dozens of volunteer women and male advocates across Afghanistan.
“Baraye,” the anthem of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Liberty” protest movement—a song woven together entirely from a Twitter hashtag trend in which Iranians express their investment in the current protests—continues to unite Iranians in their opposition to the Islamic Republic several weeks after it was first released online.
The project was based on the creation of a restaurant in the neighborhood of El Lewa, Cairo – one of the many neighborhoods built illegally, known as Ashguahiyats, a term meaning 'leaving things to chance'.
A town in northwestern Syria has become the creative center of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. Since the beginning of the uprising, the residents of Kafr Anbel have drawn signs that skewer the Assad regime and express outrage that the world has not done more to stop the killing in Syria.
From the two shores of the Mediterranean, Zoukak theatre company and cultural association (Beirut) and Center for cultural decontamination CZKD (Belgrade) collaborates by sharing their experiences and knowledge in working within sociopolitical contexts in the field of art and culture.
A group of Syrian artists in Damascus has created the world's biggest mural made of recycled materials, a rare work aimed at brightening public space in a city sapped by war and sanctions.
The brightly coloured, 720-sq metre work was constructed from aluminum cans, broken mirrors, bicycle wheels and other scrap objects and displayed on a street outside a primary school in the centre of the Syrian capital.
To honor their battle, Lebanese women's rights organization ABAAD launched a powerful song and music video titled Not Your Honor. The clip was launched on the occasion of the "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" initiative which took off on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Welcome To Palestine
by Saed Bannoura
Israeli daily Haaretz, reported that 470 of the 1200 persons that Israel blacklisted as “pro-Palestinian” and part of the Welcome To Palestine campaign, were not activists; two of them were a French diplomat and his wife.
Over the past 2 years, Visualizing Palestine (VP) has harnessed visual storytelling to bring public attention to the daily injustices facing Palestinians, from demolition of homes to mothers forced to give birth at military checkpoints. VP wants to start 2014 by raising global awareness around two key issues.
Youngsters on the West Bank will have the chance to benefit creatively from a new project this summer. From the beginning of July, Handheld Stories plans to teach filmmaking skills to groups between eight and 16 years old from youth centres and refugee camps in East Jerusalem, Nablus and Hebron, while also giving them video equipment, computers and software.
A coalition of international artists has begun a year-long protest against the mistreatment and exploitation of migrant workers building Abu Dhabi's £17bn cultural hub, including the world's largest Guggenheim and a branch of the Louvre.
The 2013 protests in Turkey started on 28 May 2013, initially to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul's Taksim Gezi Park. The protests were sparked by outrage at the violent eviction of a sit-in at the park protesting the plan.
This exhibition
is a collection of work by displaced Syrian artists. With the support of the British Council, 'Syria: Third Space' demonstrates the roles that artists play in supporting recovery and resilience. It seeks to show how artists can break boundaries, support and unite communities, re-interpret and offer alternative viewpoints through their practice.
Syria: Third Space
Former colleagues of Abdulhadi Al Khawaja from Front Line Defenders today held a silent vigil at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Dublin to urge the King of Saudi Arabia to use his influence with Bahrain to enable Abdulhadi to travel to Denmark for medical treatment.
There was once a time when Israeli songs like A Matter of
Habit were routinely written, aired and became hits. These
were songs of political commentary or protest, songs of hope
and idealism. They represented the aspirations of Israel's
secular liberal (generally Ashkenazi) elite. But that was
long ago.
Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has recreated the image of drowned infant Alan Kurdi that in 2015 became the defining symbol of the plight of Syria’s refugees.
For the recreation, Ai lay on a pebbled beach on the Greek island of Lesbos. His pose was similar to that of Kurdi’s lifeless body, which washed up on a beach near the Turkish town of Bodrum and was captured in a September 2015 photo.
There are over 200,000 migrant domestic workers living in Lebanon
today — a large number when you considered that Lebanon’s population is
only a little over 4 million. Most migrant workers live with their
Lebanese employers, cleaning their houses, washing their clothes,
cooking their food and looking after their children. Yet these workers
are not included under Lebanon’s labor laws — they are not entitled to
A rescue drone for refugees in danger whilst traveling across the Mediterranean Sea.
Last year alone, 3,500 refugees perished attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. The Avy Search and Rescue Drone is specifically designed to help refugee boats. The drone is capable of flying long distances, detecting vessels, and can drop life jackets, life buoys, food supplies, medication and communication devices.
Drones for Good Competition