
CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS IN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMP- YARMOUK IN DAMASCUS, SYRIA
Saturday 30th of October 2021
From 10.00 to 16.00
Copenhagen-Denmark
Venue: Rytmisk Center Vesterbrogade 107E, 1620 København
Objectives
This conference has a twofold objective. Firstly, it seeks to highlight the cultural heritage of Yarmouk- a place once called the capital of the Palestinian diaspora. This will be accomplished by bringing scholars, activists, cultural figures and NGO experts together to share their work with each other and with a broader audience. The conference also aims to underscore local-global encounters and hierarchies experienced in the spacial social field of Yarmouk but that can be found in other spaces, based on the assumption that we all have shared values, thoughts and critical points that are anchored in our local practices.
Morning Session
Time | Speakers | Theme |
10.00- 10.10 | Buthaina Shaheen & June Dahy Members of the Syrian Cultural Institute | Welcome with coffee, tea, croissant Elaborating on the conference
|
10.10-10.15 | Michelle Pace Professor in Global Studies at Roskilde University | Chair for the morning session |
10.15-10.35 | Nell Gabiam: Associate Professor of anthropology and political science at Iowa State University | Yarmouk: Beyond the camp and beyond the refugee experience |
10.35- 10.55 | Hazem Aboyouness: Activist. Co-founder of Alseeraj organization for development and health care. Founder and member of Arabic book fair – Malmö | The way between Yarmouk, Malmö, and Haifa
|
10.55-11:15 | Mette EL Stendevad: Experienced educator and doctoral candidate in sociology, University of Leicester | A Struggle of Memory against Forgetting: “Palestinian Women of Syria Speaking Back” |
11.15-11.35 | Speakers & audience | Questions & discussions |
11.35- 11.45 | Break | Coffee, tea, snacks |
11.45-13.00 | Film screening
| The Shebabs of Yarmouk In the honour of the memory of the late director of the film Axel Salvatori-Sinz |
Afternoon Session
Time | Speaker/activities | Theme |
13:30-13:35 | Ida Lund Advocacy specialist & educator | Chair for the afternoon session |
13.35- 13.55 | Mara Kronenfeld: Executive director of UNRWA-USA
| Volunteering in Yarmouk Advocacy in building awareness about the plight of Palestinian refugees |
13:55-14:15 | Maher Chawich: Journalist and researcher- the Action Group for the Palestinians of Syria based in London | Advocating for the humanitarian, social, and economic issues of Palestinian-Syrians |
14.15- 14.35 | Mohammed Hamid: Teacher & activist in the field of civil and social institutions, graduate of the University of Science in Damascus, student at University College Copenhagen | The cultural scene in Yarmouk: Cultural institutions and NGO’s work The influence of the commercial scene on culture |
14.35-14.55 | Speakers & audience | Questions & discussions |
14.55- 15:05 | Break | Coffee, tea, snacks
|
15.05-16.00 | Music with Nour Amoura |
|
This conference is funded by the Danish Institute in Damascus at the University of Copenhagen & the EUMENIA Jean Monnet Network
This conference is organized by the Syrian Cultural Institute in Denmark and Roskilde University.



