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The Institute of Arab Culture (Icarabe) in São Paulo, Brazil, is going to promote, starting on September 18, course "Panorama of Arab Culture". It will include three main themes: the Arab contribution to knowledge, the history and the current situation of the Arab world, and the Arab cultural repercussions.
"The intention is to show a general panorama of Arab culture," stated the president at the organization, Soraya Smaili. The classes are going to take place once a week up to December 11. According to her, there is great demand from those interested in learning more about the Arab world. "People want to understand more about historic and cultural matters. With the course, they will have a deeper basis to understand the current conflicts," stated Soraya. The themes of the course are connected to the contributions of Arab culture and of the Arab world in general. Within each of the three modules of the course, the classes will discuss matters like Arab philosophy, science, chemistry, literature, poetry, dance, music, art and architecture, the history of the Crusades, the nationalism of the 20th century, the disqualification of Arab culture and its ideological part. To give the course, the Icarabe has invited people like author Milton Hatoum and professors Mamede Jarouche, Aziz ab'Saber, José Arbex Jr. and Mohamad Habib, among other intellectuals. The course will include 13 classes, always on Mondays, each lasting two hours. For each lesson, one or two specialists in the matter covered will be invited. Participants who attend at least 75% of the classes will be given a certificate. To cover the expenses of the speakers and of the learning material, a registration fee will be charged, ranging from R$ 200 to R$ 300 (between US$ 90 and US$ 135). The classes will take place at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce auditorium. "We find it important to have a course that spreads Arab culture, and that is why we are making our space available," stated the marketing vice president at the organization, Rubens Hannun. He also stated that business, which is the focus of the Chamber, arises through closer cultural ties. Icarabe Since the beginning of its activities, in 2004, the Icarabe has been organizing various events to promote Arab culture in Brazil. The most recent work promoted by the organization was photography exhibit "Amrik - The Arab Presence in South America", which includes 110 photographs by 23 photographers from countries in South America. The event is currently at Galeria Olido, in São Paulo. According to Soraya, the institute also intends to set up a course to teach Arabic. "Readers of our e-mails have been showing enormous interest in the institute starting a language course," she said. Arab descendants and people who are not of Arab descent are showing interest in participating in the course. For further information and enrolment Icarabe
Lélia Romero
Tel: (+55 11) 3862-3825
E-mail: leliamiura@superig.com.br
Site: www.icarabe.org
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