A Cultural and Artistic Event with the Poet Henri Zoghaib at Tripoli Evangelical School for girls and Boys

Tripoli Evangelical School for Girls and Boys (TES), in collaboration with “Elite” Center for Culture and Education, organized a cultural event titled “Pages from My Biography and Career” with the poet Henri Zoghaib, and a unique art workshop, as part of the “Tripoli, Capital of Arab Culture” activities for the year 2024.

The event was attended by the school principal, Dr. Jamal Bittar, the Elite center president, Ms. Iman Dernaika Kamali, Mr. Amer Kamali, the curriculum and accreditation coordinator, Dr. Noha El -Husni, the Arabic language coordinator, Dr. Samia Farah, the department heads, and a number of school members and students from Grades 10 and 11.

After the National and the School Anthems, Dr. Bittar delivered a welcoming speech to the poet Zoghaib and Ms.Dernaika saying: “The mere mention of Henri Zoghaib’s name evokes feelings of appreciation and admiration in every lover of the Arabic language; a creative poet who has enriched our Arabic language and strengthened its position through his poems and literature works. From his very beginnings, Zoghaib took the Arabic language as his path, polishing it with an exceptional skill, and embodying it with the most beautiful feelings and ideas, enriching the Arabic library with an unparalleled creativity. Zoghaib is not only a creative poet, but he also strived to spread the Arabic language, and turned out to be its best ambassador in various international forums.”

Dr. Bitar also thanked Ms. Dernaika for her cooperation in planning and organizing this event.

After watching the video, prepared by the two Grade11 students Hour Shaker and Stephanie Samaan, which introduces Henry Zoghaib, Ms. Dernaika welcomed the poet in a speech, describing him as “an icon of creativity and art, an inspiring figure and a good example to be followed by students in their pursuit of their dreams and aspirations.” She stressed the importance of active participation in the learning process and focused on “the message of Elite Center in shaping the personalities of students and developing their skills, preparing them to embrace the challenges and opportunities that await them in the future.”

Ms. Dernaika thanked Dr. Bittar for “sponsoring this important cultural event, and all members of the faculty for their tremendous efforts in raising and educating generations of distinguished students.”

She addressed the students: “Be proud that you are the students of Tripoli Evangelical School, where success stories are written, and the wings of ambition soar towards limitless horizons to be banners of knowledge and science that rise high in the sky of Tripoli, the nation, and the world.”

The event was divided among two axes in which the poet Zoghaib presented about his career and his translation of Gibran’s book “The Prophet”, and each axis was followed by a set of questions asked by the TES students to the poet. The poet gave from his life experience examples and sound advices to the attendees, and stressed the importance of the Arabic language in preserving Arab culture and identity.

The lecture was interspersed with an art workshop that added a creative dimension to it. The students who accompanied the lecture expressed their feelings and opinions through drawing during Zoghaib’s lecture. The drawings varied between portraits of inspiring figures such as Gibran Khalil Gibran or the Prophet (Al Mostapha), and paintings from The Prophet book, paintings of Gibran Khalil Gibran with some updates as imagined by the students, and some students embodied Zoghaib’ s ideas and advice through their artistic creations.

Zoghaib praised this initiative, emphasizing “the importance of art in developing students’ skills and opening up new horizons for them.”

At the end, the book was signed for the attendees by the poet, and the school administration presented an honorary shield and a painting drawn by the eighth-grader student Jana Tarbieh to the poet, and a book of poetry by the grandfather of the student Laure Baiti, which she presented to the poet, and the head of “Elite” Center was awarded an honorary shield.

The meeting ended with a kind invitation from Principal Bittar to Zoghaib, Dernaika, and Kamali to lunch.