Despite Vulnerability: Supporting Syrian Cultural Entities Following the February 2024 Earthquake
Ettijahat - Independent Culture designed a special edition of the Life programme to contribute to supporting those affected by the February 2023 earthquake in the context of the Ahliyeh initiative. Within this context, Ettijahat provided support to seven institutions, cultural organizations, and civil entities across various regions of Syria and southern Turkey and helped them tailor their response to address their specific needs in their respective operational areas and follow their frameworks. It also encouraged the establishment of cross-disciplinary partnerships to achieve greater benefits and combine efforts.
The interventions included cultural, artistic, and social programs that were designed and implemented during the second half of 2023, to support those affected by the earthquake on the humanitarian, social and psychological levels, as well as reducing the impact of the disaster which is still felt today.
Theatre and performing arts techniques played a prominent role in these interventions, as the Citizen Artists Foundation in Aleppo and Homs implemented a training program on communication skills and community building through storytelling and artistic representations. This initiative resulted in the graduation of 34 individuals from the workshops who acquired interactive theatre techniques and story-writing skills. On the other hand, the Mraya Theater Project implemented 10 workshops on the “Dunya Box” technique, benefiting 3,000 residents of villages on the Syrian coast. The School of Dramatic Arts also created a specialized team of theatre trainers, both male and female, to work in the city of Latakia and its suburbs with 160 boys and girls who were psychologically affected by the humanitarian disaster that struck the region as a result of the earthquake.
Nefes and Nun Foundations for Culture and Arts, which specialize in the field of arts and music education, organized interactive cultural and artistic programs with children in the Gaziantep region in southern Turkey, for more than 60 boys and girls. Additionally, they organized musical evenings that allowed the two institutions to share their experiences with a wide range of audiences, such as during Nefes Music School’s student graduation ceremony.
As part of the same efforts, the Metamorphoses group established a cultural centre in the Azaz countryside in northern Syria, which provided a space for community dialogues and for presenting the history of the region. 40 young men and women participated in these dialogues which focused on the aftermath of the earthquake and the group began publishing their testimonies in partnership with the “Resurrection Now” website. In northern Syria, the Youth of Change Network in the Jandaris region designed a specialized framework for psychological support for more than 300 people, with in-kind contributions that contributed to alleviating the financial burdens of 90 families who were directly affected by the earthquake.
This framework was also accompanied by a training program on cultural project management, prepared by the Action for Hope organization, which included digital and face-to-face meetings over six months and a support program for the entities working during crises and in difficult circumstances, targeting marginalized communities or those experiencing crises.
Ettijahat perceives this support framework as a learning opportunity within the context of disasters and their response, as well as an opportunity to reflect on the appropriate balance between relief work and the role of art, and how to strengthen peer-to-peer partnerships. In this context, it believes that it is necessary to continue supporting cultural and artistic entities to enable short and medium-term responses. This will be a priority for Ettijahat within the upcoming programs of the Life programme.
In March 2023, Ettijahat - Independent Culture and Action for Hope launched the “Ahliyeh” initiative, which provided emergency response to those affected by the earthquake disaster that struck northern Syria and southern Turkey, in cooperation with many civil society organizations, local and international, and civil groups working in several fields, as well as institutions in the cultural and artistic sectors. The initiative included institutional support and direct support for more than 100 affected men and women and their families, which contributed to alleviating the catastrophic humanitarian conditions they face, in addition to strengthening the role of existing civil entities working with several communities in Syria and Turkey to provide services that enable them to confront the numerous crises stemming from this disaster.
