Zawya.com - Wed, Feb 21, 2007, 17:58 GMT

The first Lebanese cultural week witnesses great success
Lebanese artists see the UAE as a foreground to exchanging ideas and cultural enrichment

Dubai , February 18^th 2007. The first edition of the Lebanese cultural week, initiated by Culture & Co, the UAE's unique French bookstore and in association with the Alliance Française of Dubai and Abu Dhabi , has witnessed huge success throughout the first 3 days of activities which included conferences and book signing at Culture & Co. The event that started on the 15^th of February and will end on the 19^th has seen the participation of scholars as well as general public from different nationalities who are interested in the Lebanese culture in general and the French one in particular. The week long event activities in schools and cultural centers have also attracted arts and literature students eager to meet their favorite Lebanese writers and artists.

Charif Majdalani, May Menassah and Youmna Medllej renowned Lebanese journalists and writers have been especially invited from Lebanon for this event. Maya Waked, a new talent who has launched her new book during the book signing event at Culture & Co and Chantal Ghoraieb who has exhibited her paintings at the French bookstore have both been living in Dubai for the last couple of years. "It's really exciting to meet with famous Lebanese artists and writers"

Renata Sader owner of the French bookstore Culture and Co commented the event by saying "The overwhelming success of this first edition of the Lebanese cultural week, has strengthened our conviction that people living in the UAE - and especially the French speakers - are longing to such cultural activities. And it will definitely encourage us, with our partners i.e., the French Alliances, to pursue our initiatives and further promote cultural events.  It was also interesting to see the positive reaction of the public who is on one hand paying tribute to their favorite authors and on the other hand, encouraging and supporting new talents."

Speaking about her first experience in the UAE May Menassah said "This event gave us the opportunity to meet with our audiences and friends who had left Lebanon earlier to establish in the UAE, but it also allowed us to meet with people from various nationalities who can appreciate the Lebanese culture and arts"

Charif Majdalani from his part commented" The openness of the UAE on other cultures has allowed us to promote our "4 Centuries of Culture of Freedom in Lebanon" that is a valuable book on the last 400 years of heritage that contributed into creating our Lebanese cultural specificity.

-Ends-

Culture & Co - is the first French bookstore in the UAE, and the only French bookstore in the GCC. Opened in Dubai in April 2006, it caters for the cultural and educational needs of all the French speaking communities in the UAE. It's aim is to promote the French culture in the region and offers an array of various books and novels for all tastes and ages - including educational multimedia material - , as well as educational material for schools and cultural centers in the GCC.