Qatar Foundation’s BilAraby has wrapped a three-city regional tour that placed Arabic-language ideas in direct conversation with local communities.
Held from 4 to 9 August 2026 in Damascus, Amman and Djerba, the series gathered 14 speakers, nearly 1,000 attendees and 10 strategic partners around themes of youth, knowledge, perseverance and living heritage.
The result was a compact but meaningful regional circuit, shaped less like a formal conference and more like a set of civic encounters rooted in place.
At a glance
- Qatar Foundation’s BilAraby concluded its regional “BilAraby in…” series across Damascus, Amman and Djerba.
- The tour featured 14 speakers and workshops exploring youth experiences, knowledge, heritage, education, art and community dialogue.
- Nearly 1,000 attendees took part, with the next BilAraby Annual Gathering set for Doha on 19–20 September 2026.
A regional format shaped by each city
BilAraby’s regional format is built on a simple idea, bringing Arabic ideas to people in their own cities rather than asking audiences to gather around a single centre.
That approach gave each stop a distinct tone.
Damascus leaned into youth experience and shared cultural spaces, Amman focused on knowledge and perseverance in public service, while Djerba explored how heritage can remain active in contemporary life.
The tour was organised with local partners in each city, allowing the programme to reflect community realities rather than arrive as a fixed travelling template.
It also sits within a broader BilAraby calendar that has recently included appearances at the Misk Global Forum 2025 in Riyadh, the 9th Al Sharq Youth International Conference 2025 in Istanbul and sessions in Oxford in February 2026.
Damascus opened with youth, memory and shared spaces
The first stop took place on 4 August at Khan As’ad Pasha Al-Azem in Damascus, a historic setting that gave the opening session a strong architectural and cultural presence.
Organised by the Youth Affairs Foundation in collaboration with BilAraby and the Masahat media initiative, the Damascus edition drew 400 attendees and featured six young speakers.
Under the theme Youth Experiences and Shared Spaces, the talks moved across ambition, hope, art, heritage, freedom and the role of knowledge in serving society.
Jana Al-Shab spoke about embracing opportunity and forging new paths, while Hasan Al-Talfah reflected on turning personal adversity into a mission to protect others.
Housam Ghzayel explored theatre as a form of healing and reclaimed expression, and Amirah Alsousou revisited the memory of the Hejaz Railway and the communities it once connected.
Abdullah Ater considered freedom and choice, while Dr. Fadi Katamesh closed the session with the story of a knowledge initiative that began with three volunteers and developed into a wider space for learning and dialogue.
Amman centred knowledge, ambition and perseverance
The series continued on 6 August at the Conference Palace of the Applied Science Private University in Amman.
Held under the patronage of former Jordanian Prime Minister Dr. Abdul Raouf Al-Rawabdeh, the Amman edition was organised by Al-Taj for Media and Artistic Production and welcomed 400 attendees.
The programme, titled The Pulse of Letters and the Spirit of Achievement, highlighted Jordanian experiences where education, persistence and public-minded work become engines for wider impact.
Eng. Hussam Tarawneh shared the story of the Karak Creativity Club, whose programmes have benefited more than 40,000 people.
Eng. Salam Aboualhaiyjaa discussed her path in space engineering and her work encouraging young people to enter STEM fields.
Dr. Abdelbaset Alrawashdeh offered a deeply personal account of medical commitment, speaking about his dedication to patients while navigating serious health challenges of his own.
Djerba brought heritage into the present
The final stop took place on 9 August in Djerba, Tunisia, with an event organised by the Carthage Debate Association and the Unique Djerba Association.
The island, recognised on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2023 for its distinctive settlement patterns, gave the closing session a natural focus on cultural memory and renewal.
Speakers considered how heritage can be preserved without being frozen, carrying it forward through education, art, tourism and digital content.
Nasser Bouabid traced the journey behind Djerba’s UNESCO World Heritage recognition, while Said Al Barouni highlighted the manuscripts of the Barouni Library as vessels of cultural memory.
Poet Sonia Ferjani reflected on poetry, identity and belonging, Rayen Bouajaja discussed digital education and content creation, and Selima Terras spoke about collaborative songwriting and music as a force for dialogue.
The Djerba programme also included two practical workshops, Discover the World of Debates and Your Content Is Your New Resume, giving attendees a chance to move from listening into active participation.
BilAraby’s next major gathering will take place in Doha on 19–20 September 2026 at Multaqa, the Education City Student Center, under the theme With Our Ideas, We Build.
The annual event is set to include keynote talks, workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions and interactive spaces designed for exchange, networking and partnership-building, with registration and updates available through www.bilaraby.qa.
For a regional initiative built around language, place and participation, the three-city tour showed how Arabic can function not only as a medium of expression, but as a shared civic space.
