Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa, Deputy Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), took part in the first edition of the “Dawayer” Cultural Festival, held in Cairo from 6 to 15 July 2023. The Festival saw the participation of over 25 Arab and Egyptian publishing houses, and the organization of a large number of cultural activities, including writing workshops, colloquia, open meetings and book presentations, in the presence of a large number of Egyptian and Arab intellectuals.

The Festival, organized in cooperation between the “Diwan” and “Tanmia” publishing houses, aimed to foster direct communication between various stakeholders and cultural circles and boost efforts to foster interest in reading and culture, in addition to broadening the fields of knowledge and highlighting the value of culture in raising public awareness and encouraging creativity at different levels and among different age and social groups.

During the specialized discussion panel, held on Friday evening (14 July 2023), Dr. Abdelilah Benarafa reviewed the stages of his verification and editing of Ibn al-Arabi’s “Al-Diwan Al-Kabir,” published in four large volumes. The session was moderated by the Sufi scholar Mustafa Nassr.

The event also included an exhibition of original books, in addition to a parallel exhibition of second-hand books which included over three thousand works in various fields, and several practical workshops were held on creative writing, scriptwriting, mini-series writing, and more.