"Conversation with the Winners” at University of Venice Ca’ Foscari
Date April, 18 2023
Location University of Venice Ca’ Foscari
This was the first collaboration with the University of Venice Ca’ Foscari for the event “Conversation with the Winners”, to highlight the richness of Arab literature and culture through a conversation with SZBA laureates, the Tunisian poet and writer Moncef Ouhaibi, winner of the 2020 Literature award and Kuwaiti writer Lateefa Buti, winner of the 2017 Children's Literature award, featuring Monica Ruocco, Professor of Arab language and literature at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, and the Ca’ Foscari professors Andrea Facchin and Simone Sibilio.
The event commenced with keynote speeches by HE Dr. Ali bin Tamim, Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and Marco Ceresa, Director of the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Speakers
HE Dr. Ali Bin Tamim
Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and the Secretary-General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award
HE Dr Ali bin Tamim is Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) at the Department of Culture and Tourism, as well as Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Markaz, Majallat al-Dirasat al-Arabiyya, and the leading online news portal 24.ae.
Bin Tamim has held a variety of positions in the UAE's cultural and heritage sectors. He was the chairperson of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and a member of the National Archives' board of directors (2015 - 2018). Bin Tamim also oversaw the "Kalima" Translation Project and was General Manager of Abu Dhabi Media Company (2016 - 2019).
Bin Tamim was chosen as a Jury member for several important cultural awards in the UAE, including the Prince of Poets Programme, the Dubai Cultural Award, and the Khalifa Educational Award. He also served on the Supreme Committee of the State Appreciation Award.
Dr. Moncef Ouhaibi
Moncef Ouhaibi, born in 1949 in Tunisia, is Professor of Arabic Literature at the Universities of Kairouan and Sousse and a permanent member of the Tunisian Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts. He has published numerous poetry books in both Arabic and French, as well as writing short films and documentaries, notably En attendant Averroès (Waiting for Averroès), Paul Klee à Hammamet (Paul Klee in Hammamet), Devant les portes de Kairouan (Before the gates of Kairouan) et Pays qui me ressemble (Country that looks like me), which has been translated into several languages. He has been nominated for several prizes including the Comar d’Or literary prize, the Okaz Poet award for Arab poetry, and the Nikos Gatsos literary prize.
Lateefa Buti
SZBA 2017 Children's Literature Award Winner
Monica Ruocco
Professor of Arab language and Literature at the University of Naples "L'Orientale"