ESCWA is observing the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Tuesday 29 November 2016 at the UN House, Beirut.
This year’s event will start by an official ceremony at 10:00 AM, where a crowd of diplomats, governmental and civil society representatives will listen to the message of the United Nations Secretary-General delivered by UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag; as well as to the statements by guest speaker, Norwegian physician and human rights activist Mads Gilbert and by ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf. The event will also see official statements of Palestine delivered by Palestinian Minister of National Economy Abeer Odeh, and Lebanon delivered by President of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee (LPDC) Hassan Mneimneh.
The morning ceremony also features songs from the Palestinian heritage performed by Al-Manfeyen (the exiled ones), a group of Palestinian youth living in Palestinian refugee camps of Tyr, and a publications exhibition by the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) again at the UN House premises.
At 12:30 PM, a cultural exhibit on “Palestinian Moments” will be inaugurated at Souk al-Tawileh in Beirut Souks and will last until Sunday 4 December. The exhibit is organised in cooperation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and LPDC. It features five components:
- “The LONG JOURNEY” a photo exhibit by UNRWA;
- “Moments of Awareness” infographs by Visualizing Palestine;
- “Lives under Siege” photos from Gaza provided by The Union of Arab Photographers;
- “Inspired Moments” installations by Abdul Rahman Katanani;
- “Embroidered Moments” handicrafts by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
On Wednesday 30 November, at 05:30 PM, a talk on the “Endless Wounds of Gaza” will be held at the American University of Beirut (AUB) West Hall Bathish Auditorium, with the participation of Dr. Mads Gilbert and Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, who have provided medical care in Gaza, to discuss life and health conditions in the Strip. The discussion is organised by ESCWA, the Conflict Medicine Program at AUB, and the Palestinian Cultural Club (PCC) at AUB.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is marked in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolutions 32/40B of 2 December 1977 and 64/17 of 21 January 2010. The Resolutions encouraged Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity.
The ESCWA Communication and Information Unit (ECIU) kindly requests media institutions wishing to take part in this event to submit the names of their delegates by Monday 28 November 2016 on the following numbers: 70-993144, 76-046402. This arrangement is required in order to facilitate the access of media representatives to the UN House.
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For more information:
Nabil Abu-Dargham +961-70-99 31 44
dargham@un.org
Ms. Mirane Abi-Zaki +961-76-04 64 02
abi-zaki@un.org
For more ESCWA news, please visit:
Website: www.unescwa.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/unescwa Twitter: @ESCWACIU