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Unlike many literary prizes decided solely by professional juries, the Prix Horizon relies on reader participation.
Moroccan writer Zineb Mekouar has received the Prix Horizon in Belgium for her novel “Souviens-toi des abeilles”, a work that ties environmental fragility with family memory in the landscapes of southern Morocco.
The award ceremony took place on Saturday in Marche-en-Famenne, in southern Belgium. The prize goes every two years to the most accomplished second novel written in French, with a strong focus on authors who deepen their literary voice beyond a debut work.
Mekouar’s novel, published by Gallimard, is set in the High Atlas mountains and draws a portrait of a rural world shaped by ancestral beekeeping practices. Through the eyes of a child, the story links inheritance, silence within families, and the pressures placed on fragile ecosystems.
Unlike many literary prizes decided solely by professional juries, the Prix Horizon relies on reader participation. Reading groups from Belgium and France’s Grand Est region take part in the final vote after a shortlist drawn up by literary professionals.
The Moroccan author meets readers and fellow finalists during a full day of discussions before the final vote. The format emphasizes direct exchange between authors and the public.
Created twelve years ago by the city of Marche-en-Famenne, the Prix Horizon seeks to draw attention to French-language writers who confirm their place in literature through a second novel. The selection begins with a professional jury that reviews dozens of works before readers decide the final winner.
“Souviens-toi des abeilles” has already gained recognition in France. It received the Henri de Régnier Prize from the Académie française in 2025. It also appeared in the Académie Goncourt summer selections for 2024 and entered the first shortlist for the Prix Jean Giono the same year. The novel also won the Folire Prize in 2025.
This year’s other finalists included Claire Vesin with “Le lotissement”, Marie Mangez with “Les vérités parallèles”, Ketty Rouf with “Mère absolument”, and Benjamin de Laforcade with “Berlin pour elles”.
Born in Casablanca in 1991 and based in Paris since 2009, Mekouar first drew attention with her debut novel “La poule et son cumin”, published in 2022. The book reached the final stage of the Goncourt prize for first novel.
With the news of the Netherlands returning a 3,500-year-old Egyptian sculpture this week, here is a list of ten important Egyptian artefacts that are still held abroad.
Earlier last week, Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof announced his government would be returning a sculpture from the reign of King Thutmose III to Egypt, where it had been illegally taken during the 2011 Revolution and sold abroad. The announcement was made in the wake of the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum and was met with praise and applause by many Egyptian observers. In recent years, there have been increasing calls by Egyptians (and by many people of formerly colonized countries) to bring home their country’s lost artefacts. However, the story of how artefacts came to leave a country is often complicated. Oftentimes they were looted, but sometimes they were given as gifts (or otherwise lawfully taken). In any case, in an effort to commemorate the Grand Egyptian Museum becoming the largest museum in the world dedicated to one civilization, here is a list of some of the Egyptian artefacts you still won’t find there.
1) The Oldest Bible in the World (British Library, London)
The Codex Sinaiticus, also known as the Sinai Bible, is the oldest complete copy of the New Testament ever found. Dating to around 350 CE during the time of Roman Egypt, it is also the youngest artefact on this list. (The timeline of the Grand Egyptian Museum, which chronicles ancient Egyptian history from prehistoric times to the Greco-Roman period, ends at 400 CE.)
The story of how this Bible left Egypt is complicated. Although the Bible was found in Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai in 1844 by a German theologian, it was given to Tsar Alexander II of Russia, and then sold to the British Museum in London in 1933 by the Soviet government. Today, most of the manuscript remains in British Library (where very few scholars have been allowed to see it in full), though smaller fragments are still scattered across Germany, Russia, and St. Catherine’s Monastery.
2) Luxor Obelisk (Paris)
If you’ve ever been to the Luxor Temple on the east bank of the Nile River, you will have noticed that in the entranceway there stands only one obelisk, the other clearly missing. Carved during the reign of Ramses II of Egypt’s New Kingdom, the missing granite obelisk now sits in the center of Place de la Concorde in Paris. It was gifted to the French Empire by Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1829 as a gesture of friendship, and it remains the oldest monument in all of France.
3) The Oldest Woven Dress in the World (Petrie Museum, London)
The Tarkhan dress, a linen garment that was once likely once worn by an Egyptian worker, is a 5000 year old piece of clothing—the oldest woven garment ever found. The dress was found south of Cairo in 1913 by Flinders Petrie, a British archaeologist, who at first believed it to be little more than a rag. He decided to take the rag with him to London anyway, and it wasn’t until the clothing was carbon-dated in 2015 that the true age—and significance—of the dress was understood.
The roughly size 2 dress remains in remarkably good condition (for its age), featuring a V-neck cut and long sleeves, and armpit stains left by its original wearer.
4) The Oldest Complete Map of the Ancient Sky (Louvre Museum, Paris)
The Dendera Zodiac is a celestial map from the time of Ptolemaic Egypt, depicting the twelve zodiac signs (a Greek invention) with Egyptian imagery and style. It was likely created during the reign of Cleopatra, around 50 BCE, and was etched into the walls of the Dendera Temple of Hathor north of Luxor. Besides its beauty, its significance lies in the fact that it is the oldest (and possibly only) known complete map of the ancient sky.
The French removed it from Egypt in 1821 (with some versions of the story claiming they used dynamite to do so), and today it can be found in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
5) The Rosetta Stone (British Museum, London)
Many people believe that the Rosetta Stone was taken by the British from Egypt, but in reality, it was taken by the British from the French, who took it from Egypt. Discovered by French soldiers in the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in 1799, this stone is perhaps the most important archaeological discovery of all time (and it remains the most visited artefact in the British Museum). Its decryption paved the way to understanding ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (and with it most of ancient Egyptian history), which until then had been illegible to all who tried to read it.
When Egypt formally asked for the Stone’s repatriation in 2003, the British Museum refused to return it, and instead gave Egypt a replica of the Stone. That replica now sits inside the National Museum in Rashid.
6) The Bust of Nefertiti (Neues Museum, Berlin)
This iconic sculpture is one of the most well-known artefacts from ancient Egypt, and it depicts an equally legendary figure: Queen Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaten, stepmother of Tutankhamun. 3,400 years ago, Akhenaten’s sculptor captured Nefertiti’s beautifully slender neck, raised chin, and level gaze, and when it was discovered in 1912 the painted sculpture was still in remarkably good condition.
At the time of its finding, excavations in Egypt were conducted under a system whereby all items discovered were split between Egypt and the foreign country sponsoring the excavation, but there was a caveat: only ‘non-unique’ items could leave the country. The controversy that surrounds this bust is that the German team that discovered it hid its true value, and thus the bust was allowed to leave Egypt and be transported to Berlin, where it remains today.
7) Colossal Figure of Ramses II (British Museum, London)
Also known as the Younger Memnon, this colossal torso and head once sat atop a statue of Ramses II located at his mortuary temple in Luxor. In 1798, Napoleon’s men tried extracting the statue but failed, and a couple of decades later the British succeeded in removing the upper portion of the statue (which had, long before, been damaged and detached from the rest of the body during an earthquake). Weighing nearly 20 tonnes, the statue is the largest Egyptian sculpture in the British Museum.
8) Bust of Ankh-haf (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
This lesser known artefact is striking for its high level of realism. Its namesake, Ankh-haf, was a government official of the Old Kingdom who oversaw the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx.
The bust was discovered in 1925 during an expedition by Harvard University, and in 1927 it was gifted by the Egyptian government to an American archaeologist. Perhaps fittingly given the sculpture’s realism, it now rests in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
9 & 10) Cleopatra’s Needles (London & New York)
Despite their name, the pair of obelisks called Cleopatra’s Needles bear no relation to Queen Cleopatra herself. Instead, they were constructed during the reign of King Thutmose III of the New Kingdom, more than a thousand years before Cleopatra’s reign. During the Roman era they were moved from their original location in Heliopolis to Alexandria, where they stood for nearly two thousand years.
By the 1800s, one of the two needles had fallen. It was this needle that Muhammed Ali Pasha, in 1819, decided to gift to Britain (as he had gifted the Luxor Obelisk to France). However, the 21-meter tall obelisk was so massive that it was not actually transported to London until the reign of Ismail Pasha in 1877. It was also Ismail Pasha who, in the same year, gifted the remaining needle to the United States.
Al-Omar: Modern technology key to safeguarding historic radio archive.
Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Acting Minister of Information and Culture Omar Al-Omar said the project to develop the Ministry of Information’s radio archive forms part of ongoing efforts to preserve Kuwait’s national media heritage using the latest technical systems and standards.
Al-Omar made the remarks in a speech during the project’s inauguration on Wednesday, attended by Austrian Ambassador to Kuwait Ulrich Frank and Ministry of Information Undersecretary Dr Nasser Muhaysen. The project is being implemented by Awlad Abdulaziz Abdulmohsen Al-Rashed Company in cooperation with Austrian firm NOA, which specializes in multimedia archiving and digitization, with the aim of preserving and digitizing radio content using advanced technologies.
The minister stressed that safeguarding national media heritage through modern systems ensures the sustainability and accessibility of radio materials, describing them as an integral part of Kuwait’s cultural and historical memory. He added that the initiative reflects the depth of relations between Kuwait and Austria and their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation in the media, cultural and technological fields in line with developments in modern media work.
Al-Omar noted that the Ministry of Information continues to implement development plans aimed at upgrading its technical infrastructure and enhancing capabilities in production, broadcasting and digital archiving, in line with the state’s broader drive to build a modern and efficient media system. He also emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships with specialized international institutions, which he said are essential to improving institutional performance, developing national talent and enhancing the quality of media services. For his part, Ambassador Frank said the project reflects the strong level of cooperation between Kuwait and Austria in cultural and technical fields, expressing his pleasure at participating in the launch of an initiative that contributes to preserving Kuwait’s media heritage.
He noted that the Radio Kuwait archive contains thousands of recordings documenting key stages of the country’s history, including musical works, programmes and diverse audio content. He said digitization and long-term preservation efforts would help safeguard these materials and improve accessibility for future generations, while modern systems would ensure their preservation and usability. Frank added that cooperation between Kuwaiti entities and Austrian specialized companies would support the completion of the digitization process using advanced technological solutions.
Meanwhile, Director of Radio Engineering at the Ministry of Information and project team leader Issa Al-Enezi told KUNA that the project coincides with the 75th anniversary of Radio Kuwait, which has played a key role in documenting the country’s development and cultural history. He said the project is based on three main pillars: cataloguing and classifying radio content, digitizing the archive according to the highest technical standards, and building a comprehensive database to facilitate access to archived materials. He described the initiative as a transition from traditional archiving to digital sustainability, ensuring preservation for future generations.
Chairman and CEO of Al-Rashed Group Abdulaziz Al-Rashed said the group’s role extends beyond implementation to supporting strategic national initiatives that advance development and digital transformation in Kuwait. He said the partnership with the Ministry of Information and Austrian company NOA represents a model of integration between national expertise and global technology, contributing to high-quality national projects and supporting Kuwait’s digital transformation agenda. The inauguration ceremony included a video presentation outlining the project’s implementation phases and archiving processes, as well as a tour of the facilities showcasing the digital preservation systems in use. — KUNA
source/content: kuwaittimes.com (headline edited)
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KUWAIT: Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and Acting Minister of Information and Culture, Omar Al-Omar and other officials are pictured during the project’s inauguration on Wednesday.- KUNA photos
A collection of 100 pieces of gold jewelry dating back to the Abbasid era has been discovered in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qassim region, the Saudi Heritage Commission announced on Tuesday.
The ancient artifacts are thought to have formed a complete adornment set, and were designed to look like flowers with stone settings fixed within gold frames.
There is also a large disc-shaped piece inlaid with colored stones arranged symmetrically in a central pattern, as well as a large group of multi-colored beads and delicate gold spacers.
The items were crafted using hammering and hand-forming techniques on gold sheets, along with decorative pressing and stone inlay within the frames.
These techniques reflect the advanced craftsmanship of the period and the development of gold jewelry-making during the Abbasid era, according to the commission.
They were found at the Dariyah archaeological site as part of the fourth season of the commission’s archaeological survey and excavation project.
Dr Jasir Suliman Alherbish, CEO of the Saudi Heritage Commission, said in a statement: “This discovery at Dariyah reflects the abundance of the Kingdom’s cultural heritage and its longstanding role as a crossroads of trade routes and cultural exchange.
“It underscores the Heritage Commission’s commitment to research, documentation and preservation, further strengthening understanding of the Kingdom’s history and safeguarding its cultural legacy.”
Excavations also revealed architectural features dating back to the Abbasid period, including the foundations of stone buildings, mud walls, fire hearths and plastered rooms, in addition to pottery vessels and metal tools.
These finds indicate human settlement dating back to the late ninth century A.D. and confirm the strategic importance of the site along pilgrimage and trade routes.
Located in the southwest of Al-Qassim Region, Dariyah is one of Saudi Arabia’s significant archaeological sites, with evidence of activity from the pre-Islamic period into the early Islamic era.
It was historically an important stop on ancient trade and pilgrimage routes, including the Basran Hajj route from Iraq.
Its surviving remains, set among mountains and valleys, include archaeological mounds, stone building foundations, pottery and glass fragments, soapstone artifacts and Islamic inscriptions in the surrounding area, reflecting the site’s long-standing historical and cultural significance.
source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)
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The set of ancient gold jewelry dates back to the Abbasid era. (Supplied)
In interview with Arab News, Jordan Media Institute dean Dr. Ziad Rifai discusses urgent need to equip citizens with tools to navigate today’s information ecosystem
Working alongside UNESCO and the Jordanian government, JMI has spearheaded 2 successive national media literacy strategies, establishing Jordan as a regional model
Sitting comfortably in his office in Amman, Dr. Ziad Rifai does not immediately strike you as someone whose grand mission is to fight information warfare.
The dean of the Jordan Media Institute and architect of its media literacy program — one of the first and most comprehensive initiatives of its kind in the Arab region — draws on decades of experience, appearing at times measured while promising to take on a David vs. Goliath challenge.
“Everybody now that has a phone basically has a TV, a radio station, a newspaper. All the media have been consolidated into this small phone,” he told Arab News. “And with that, with the amount of abuse that we’ve witnessed — the hate speech, the echo chambers, the misinformation, the disinformation, the rumors — all that necessitated that we need to do something about it.”
Founded in 2006 by HRH Princess Rym Ali as the first institution in the region to offer an Arabic-language MA in journalism and modern media, in partnership with the University of Jordan, JMI has evolved to keep pace with a rapidly shifting industry. Over the years it has introduced new courses — including mobile journalism and data journalism — alongside its media literacy program.
“Our focus is on journalism, creating journalists who are experienced, dedicated, ethical. That’s the core of our mission,” Rifai said. “But, as you know very well, the media scene is changing rapidly. So, while keeping the basic principles, we had to branch out into the new media scene.”
Rifai, who has worked across newsrooms, the UN, Jordan TV and the Higher Media Council, has watched this transformation unfold over five decades. He recalls a Jordan with one radio station, then the arrival of a single television channel and a handful of newspapers. Invoking Wilbur Schramm — the American scholar widely regarded as the father of modern communication theory, whose four-press model was first published in 1956 — he says the world has grown far more complex since then.
“Things have gotten so mixed up,” he added. “We are in a phase that’s as big as inventing the printing press, if not more. The problem is that the forces that are pushing the change, nobody knows who they are. And I’m not so sure if anybody can control where they’re going. Not to mention if they know where they’re going.”
That chaos, he suggested, is most acutely felt in the information ecosystem, where speed routinely outpaces safeguards — and where the general public is left with few tools to navigate the difference.
“The biggest challenge we have is with the speed that things change. The problem is how to catch up and have enough time to do interventions, awareness, education and introduce legislations.”
AI has become the defining example. In April, UNESCO examined how algorithmic AI systems are transforming information dynamics and amplifying risks — from misinformation to deepfakes — ultimately threatening trust in media and democratic integrity. The report argues that media and information literacy is the critical response. Yet follow-up initiatives, Rifai said, too often become mired in bureaucracy.
“For any initiative like this to take hold in a society, you need a champion. You need someone who believes in the idea and who pushes (it) forward,” he added.
JMI has been that champion in Jordan, working with the government domestically and relying on UNESCO as an international partner to strengthen credibility.
“We are the catalyst, we’re the advocates. UNESCO has the expertise and the global knowledge, but not the local,” said Rifai. “However, without the state, nothing will take hold, especially in our region.”
The model, he argues, is replicable. JMI is already exporting its expertise to a group of countries across the region.
“If (a country) took the strategy that we have and looked at it, they might change dates, they might change budgets, they might change partners, but the basic pillars of the strategy would probably be applicable in most of our region because the phenomenon is universal.”
JMI’s work operates on two levels: national policy design and hands-on training. Following an experimentation phase around 2014, Jordan moved to official adoption in 2019, when media literacy was placed on the government’s priority list alongside pilot projects in schools and youth spaces. The first National Strategy for Media and Information Literacy (2020–2023) earned recognition from UNESCO and a number of Arab and European officials, establishing Jordan as the first Arab country with a comprehensive, formal MIL plan. In late 2025, Jordan launched a second strategy for 2026–2029, again with UNESCO and JMI as core partners.
“The second strategy has full ownership of the government and all the elements of sustainability — that’s what the first strategy did not have,” Rifai said.
The program targets all age groups and all sectors of society, adjusting only in terms of sophistication.
“It essentially targets all sectors of operation. What differs is the level of sophistication,” said Rifai, adding that a 50-year-old housewife can be as active a disseminator of misinformation as a teenager. MIL concepts are now integrated into school curricula across subjects including religion, social sciences and Arabic — but Rifai is candid about the gap between integration and application.
“In my previous career at the UN, we integrated concepts of reproductive health and family planning in two books. The challenge was that teachers didn’t teach it. It was in the book, but in the classroom, they just skipped it. Either because they didn’t believe in it, or because they thought it wasn’t important.”
Monitoring implementation, he acknowledges, is the next frontier. “If awareness is not translated to behavioral impact or behavioral change, it’s not worth the objective. At the end of the day, the campaign should change behaviors and not just create that awareness. Awareness might be the first step in that direction.”
The ambition extends beyond classrooms. This week, JMI signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan’s Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to develop a code of ethics for journalists covering disability — an area Rifai describes as a blind spot in regional media.
“People with disabilities are absent, at least in our region, from the media scene,” he said. “Whenever you see a person with disability in media, it’s either portrayed as, ‘oh, poor guy,’ or, ‘oh, how wonderful, he got a degree in science.’ Both, from their perspective, it’s the wrong approach. Just treat them like normal human beings.”
He framed the partnership as explicitly two-directional: JMI bringing journalism expertise, the council bringing lived experience.
Rifai acknowledges the world remains full of challenges, but believes the goal is to take back enough control to exploit technology’s possibilities rather than be consumed by them.
“It’s not easy to predict where we’re going. What we know for sure is that things seem to be going out of hand, in terms of media proliferation. We’re being pushed to becoming more and more reliant on (a specific technology), and less and less having any input on controlling where it’s going.”
He sees it, ultimately, as a double-edged sword. “The chaotic scene has its pitfalls,” he said, “but at the end of the day, it is allowing everybody to say what they want. For the first time, there’s freedom of information and everybody now is telling his or her story without the control. It could go either way, and I wouldn’t put money on either side of that prediction.”
For JMI, however, the mission remains constant. “No matter what happens with the media, we should not lose sight of that importance of having a proper journalism. At the end of the day, what matters is what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. We will continue to hold the principles and the ethical message of proper journalism. That will continue to be our role, no matter what new technologies or wars come.”
source/content: arabnews.com (headlines edited)
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Dr. Ziad Rifai, dean of the Jordan Media Institute and architect of its media literacy program, spoke to Arab News about one of the first and most comprehensive initiatives of its kind in the Arab region. (Supplied)
Authors, scholars and institutions from Arab world and beyond honoured as Abu Dhabi prize celebrates two decades of cultural influence.
The 2026 winners of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award were announced on Friday, marking two decades of one of the Arab world’s most influential literary prizes.
Established in 2006 and held under the patronage of President Sheikh Mohamed, the award has grown into a fixture on the region’s cultural calendar, drawing submissions from across the world and supporting the global reach of Arabic literature.
This year’s winners reflect that international scope, with recipients from countries including Egypt, Morocco, Germany and the UAE.
Egyptian writer Ashraf Elashmawy took the Literature prize for his novel Births in the Zoo, a work that explores shifts in Egyptian society through closely observed, character-driven storytelling. Moroccan researcher Mustapha Rajouane won in the Young Author category for a study examining how rhetoric shapes narrative in the modern Arabic novel.
In Translation, Iraqi-American scholar Nawal Nasrallah has been recognised for her English edition of a 13th-century Arabic culinary text, bringing a complex historical manuscript to a wider readership. Jordanian academic Zuhair Tawfiq received the Literary and Art Criticism award for his study of how Arab and western cultures have historically imagined one another.
German writer and translator Stefan Weidner won in the Arab Culture in Other Languages category for a major anthology of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, while the Emirates Literature Foundation was honoured for its role in developing the UAE’s literary scene and supporting readers and writers.
The Encyclopaedias and Lexicons category went to Egyptian academic Mohamed Elkhosht for his six-volume Encyclopaedia of World Religions, and veteran Egyptian singer Nagat Al Saghira was named Cultural Personality of the Year, recognising a career that has helped shape modern Arabic song and language.
More than 4,000 submissions were received from 74 countries, underlining the award’s growing international profile. Since its launch, it has attracted more than 33,000 entries and honoured 136 winners, including writers, translators and cultural institutions.
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak , chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said the award continues to build on the UAE’s long-standing investment in culture and knowledge, while Ali bin Tamim, secretary general of the award, described it as a platform that has helped shape contemporary Arabic literary and research landscapes.
A programme of events is planned throughout the year to mark the award’s 20th anniversary. Winners will be honoured at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, with Al Saghira receiving Dh1 million for being Cultural Personality of the Year, and other category winners awarded Dh750,000 each.
Shahira Fahmy has been announced as the first Egyptian Jury President of the Arab World Institute Design Award 2026.
As the first Egyptian architect to serve as Jury President of the Arab World Institute Design Award, Shahira Fahmy joins a panel of designers, curators, editors and cultural figures shaping the fourth edition of the Paris-based award programme. Organised by the Institut du Monde Arabe, the award recognises emerging and established designers from across the Arab world, with a focus on craftsmanship, material innovation and contemporary design practices.
“Design in the Arab world has always carried memory, resourcefulness and a strong understanding of place,” says Shahira Fahmy. “What interests me about this award is its ability to create visibility for designers responding to current realities while remaining connected to local knowledge and cultural identity.”
The Arab World Institute Design Award 2026 invites projects created between September 2024 and April 2026 across four categories: Emerging Talent Award, Contemporary Craftsmanship Award, Impact Award in partnership with Arab Bank Switzerland, and the Grand Prize for established architects and designers. The programme examines how design engages with sustainability, craft traditions, production processes and material research across the region.
Founded in Cairo in 2005, SFA – Shahira Fahmy Architects expanded to Dubai in 2024 and works across architecture, heritage restoration, urban planning, and interior design. The practice is known for projects including the restoration and rehabilitation of Zone 1 in AlUla Old Town, Dar Tantora The House Hotel and Beit Bin Nouh for the Royal Commission for AlUla. The work contributed to AlUla Old Town’s nomination for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2025.
“For me, architecture and design are tied to people and context,” Fahmy says. “Whether working on a heritage site in AlUla or a contemporary urban project, the process begins by listening to what already exists.”
A graduate of Cairo University, Fahmy taught at the university for a decade and has lectured internationally at institutions including Columbia GSAPP and The American University in Cairo. Her work has also been recognised through fellowships at Harvard University, including the Loeb Fellowship at the Graduate School of Design, the Hutchins Fellowship at the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute, and the Berkman Klein Fellowship at Harvard Law School.
Joining Fahmy on this year’s jury are Daniele Gerkens, Memia Taktak, Mette Degn Christensen, Michèle Maria Chaya, Nicolas Lecompte, Samer Yamani, Sheikha Reem Al Thani, Aidan Imanova, Ali Khadra and Arnaud Morand.
“It is important to see platforms like this continue conversations around Arab design through ecology, craftsmanship, material experimentation, and the future of communities across the region,” Fahmy adds.
Finalist projects will be shortlisted in May 2026. The selected projects will then be reviewed by the jury ahead of the awards ceremony at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris in September 2026, as part of Paris Design Week.
The 20th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, meeting Thursday in New Delhi, has clearly and unequivocally confirmed the primacy of Algeria’s inscription of the Caftan as an essential component of its rich cultural heritage, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Community Abroad and African Affairs said in a statement.
On this occasion, the Committee decided to modify the name of the element inscribed in 2024 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity to explicitly include the Caftan, as well as the Quat and the Lhef. The Algerian element now bears the new designation: “Women’s ceremonial costume in the Eastern region of Algeria: knowledge and skills associated with the making and adornment of the Gandoura and the Melehfa.”
The Committee also approved the modification of the file titled “Rites and craftsmanship associated with the wedding costume tradition of Tlemcen,” inscribed since 2012 on the Representative List. It decided to add the mention “the Wearing of the Caftan” to section B3 of the ICH-02 form, in accordance with the submitted document.
These decisions represent “a new major diplomatic success for Algeria, both on the international cultural scene and within the framework of multilateral diplomacy.” They reaffirm “the historical and cultural primacy of Algeria’s inscription of the Caftan on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and strengthen the international recognition of this exceptional intangible heritage,” the statement added.
The decision “consolidates Algeria’s place on UNESCO’s Representative List” and constitutes explicit recognition of the “sustained and continuous efforts of the State to promote, preserve and highlight Algeria’s rich cultural heritage, the product of centuries of history reflecting the depth and authenticity of our nation.”
This recognition “also reflects the relevance of the approach adopted in implementing the instructions of the country’s high authorities to promote our cultural heritage in all its components and forms, while protecting it from any attempt at imitation, appropriation or falsification,” the statement concluded.
‘Gaza: Doctors Under Attack’ won the current affairs category after being dropped by the BBC over impartiality concerns, and was later picked up by Channel 4
BBC reportedly broadcasted an edited version of the acceptance speech that removed remarks about Israel
The filmmakers behind “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” criticized the BBC over its decision to shelve the documentary during their acceptance speech at the BAFTA TV Awards on Sunday.
The film won in the current affairs category after being dropped by the BBC over impartiality concerns, and was later picked up by Channel 4.
Accepting the award, journalist and presenter Ramita Navai said that the film highlighted findings from an investigation into attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system.
“These are the findings of our investigation that the BBC paid for but refused to show,” she said. “But we refuse to be silenced and censored. We thank Channel 4 for showing this film.”
Navai said that more than 1,700 Palestinian doctors and healthcare workers had been killed and more than 400 detained during Israel’s war on Gaza.
She dedicated the award to Palestinian medical workers held in Israeli prisons.
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack wins a BAFTA Award
Executive Producer Ben de Pear, "Just a question for the BBC, given you that you dropped our film will you drop us from the BAFTA TV screening later on tonight?"
According to local reports, the BBC did not air Navai’s speech in full and instead broadcast an edited version that removed her remarks about Israel, reigniting criticism of the corporation’s handling of Gaza-related coverage.
The BAFTA awards are broadcast on BBC One after a two-hour delay.
The documentary, which features firsthand accounts from Palestinian health workers in Gaza, was honored at London’s Royal Festival Hall nearly a year after the BBC declined to air it.
Executive producer Ben de Pear also used the acceptance speech to thank Jaber Badwan and Osama Al-Ashi — the journalists behind the film — before addressing the BBC directly.
“Finally, just a question for the BBC: Given you dropped our film, will you drop us from the Bafta screening later tonight?”
The BBC commissioned the documentary from independent production company Basement Films more than a year ago, but delayed its release while reviewing another Gaza-related documentary, “Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone.”
It later said that it would not air “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack,” arguing that the film risked creating “a perception of partiality that would not meet the high standards that the public rightly expect of the BBC.” The broadcaster also said that impartiality remained “a core principle of BBC News.”
The film was later acquired and broadcast by Channel 4 in July.
source/content:arabnews.com (headline edited)
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The documentary, which features firsthand accounts from Palestinian health workers in Gaza, was honored at London’s Royal Festival Hall nearly a year after the BBC declined to air it. (Getty/File)
As country debates easing return of treasures, attention turns to regional pieces still held in its national collections.
French lawmakers are debating a new bill aimed at simplifying the return of colonial-era cultural objects to their countries of origin, drawing renewed attention to artefacts still held in France’s national collections, which number in the tens of thousands.
The draft legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate in January and now requires backing from the lower house, the Assemblee Nationale, before it can become a law.
While not all cases are at the same stage, these five objects from Algeria, Egypt and Jordan sit within that broader restitution debate, whether through formal state requests, public campaigns or long-standing calls for their return.
1. Baba Merzoug, Algeria
The 16th-century cannon known as Baba Merzoug at the Arsenal of Brest in western France. AFP
The 16th-century bronze cannon from the Ottoman era in Algiers is housed at the naval base in the French coastal city of Brest after being taken by French forces in 1830 following the capture of Algiers.
While seized as a spoil of war, the cannon remains a politically charged symbol of French colonial rule in Algeria. The Algerian government formally requested its return in 2012, and the cannon was explicitly cited during the April 2026 parliamentary debate over France’s proposed restitution framework.
2. Emir Abdelkader’s effects, Algeria
Rather than a single object, this refers to personal items associated with the 19th-century Algerian leader Emir Abdelkader, who led the resistance against French invasion before his surrender in 1847.
Held across French collections including at Musee de l Armee in Paris and Musee Conde in Chantilly, the objects include a steel sabre, pistol, ceremonial cloak and related belongings linked to Abdelkader’s life and leadership.
Algeria has included these effects on a formal restitution list submitted to French authorities in 2021, and they remain a sensitive part of the wider dispute over colonial-era holdings.
3. Dendera Zodiac, Egypt
The Dendero Zodiac is an ancient bas-relief that formed part of the ceiling of the Temple of Hathor in Upper Egypt and is now held at the Louvre in Paris.
Removed in the early 19th century, it has been part of the Louvre collection since 1822 and has become one of the most recognisable Egyptian antiquities in a French museum.
While there is no verified formal Egyptian state request for its return, the object has been repeatedly cited in public repatriation campaigns, including those led by archaeologist and former antiquities minister Zahi Hawass.
4. Mesha Stele, Jordan
Also known as the Moabite Stone, the Mesha Stele is a 9th-century BC basalt monument from present-day Jordan and is considered one of the most important inscriptions from the ancient Levant.
Discovered in 1868 by the Anglican missionary Frederick Augustus Klein at Dhiban, it was later shattered by the Bani Hamida tribe over an ownership dispute, before the fragments were recovered and reassembled in France.
In June 2014, non-governmental Mesha Centre for Studies and Human Rights delivered an official request for the stele’s return to the French embassy in Amman.
The Jordan Times reported in 2015 that French ambassador Caroline Dumas discussed the request with representatives and said she would convey their public appeal to the French government. No formal response has been reported.
5. The Seated Scribe, Egypt
One of the Louvre’s most famous Egyptian works, the Seated Scribe is a painted limestone sculpture from the Old Kingdom, dating back to circa 2600BC-2350BC. It is famed for its striking realism and remarkably preserved features.
Found at Saqqara in the 19th century by the French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, it is among the most celebrated masterpieces of the Louvre’s Department of Egyptian Antiquities.
While the Egyptian government has not included the Seated Scribe on any formal restitution lists, it has appeared in broader public discussion in Egyptian cultural circles around the recovery of major artefacts held abroad.
