Under the patronage and in the presence of the Director General of the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Head of the Private Education Department at the Ministry, Mr. Imad Al-Ashqar, the Cave of Arts Association, represented by its president, artist Ghandi Abu Diab, held a cultural gathering and poetry evening at the cave's garden in the town of Al-Jahiliya in the Shouf region. The event was attended by the President of the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Nada Farhat; the Head of the Cultural Committee, poet Mustafa Sbeity; the Council's Public Relations Officer, Dr. Nisreen Harfouche; the Assistant Commander of the Mount Lebanon Region in the Internal Security Forces, Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Hajj Diab; Dr. Iyad Sukkarieh; Labor Minister's Advisor Dr. Firas Zeaiter; and a selection of friends, university professors, consultants, administrators, educational and social organizations, writers, poets, and society figures.
The evening featured a poem of thanks and welcome by artist Ghandi Abu Diab, through which he pointed out the necessity of incorporating Lebanese colloquial poetry into educational curricula and holding dialogue-based poetry seminars and meetings on the campuses of Lebanese schools, institutes, and universities, both in Lebanon and abroad.
Furthermore, both the Director General of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Imad Al-Ashqar, and Dr. Iyad Sukkarieh delivered speeches inspired by the occasion, in which they expressed the importance of this cultural and artistic landmark and voiced their admiration for the achievements made and the impressive works. They also emphasized the importance of opening the doors of the Cave of Arts to school students, with the necessity of benefiting from the unique ideas, achievements, and artistic paintings there.
The speakers also called for the importance of schools organizing periodic visits to the Cave of Arts, and for discussing ideas with the younger generations, with the aim of opening future horizons for students, expanding their range of life orientations, and facilitating their educational and professional paths, while considering the possibility of including the Cave of Arts within future educational programs.
The evening concluded with national poems by poet Mohammad Matar and poet Mounir Abu Diab, and a village dinner in honor of those present.
