The Ministry of Culture, represented by the Qatari Forum for Authors, held an event to celebrate the World Short Story Day, which falls on February 14th, with the participation of a large number of short story writers. The session that discussed the reality of the short story and the challenges it faces was moderated by the Qatari writer Jamal Fayez, and it was broadcast live on the Forum’s YouTube channel.
Ms. Maryam Yassin Al-Hammadi, Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture and Director General of the Qatari Forum of Authors, delivered the opening speech and praised the great efforts of the Forum’s members through targeted cultural initiatives that promote the cultural movement locally. She also added that literature is the true legacy of nations, whether in the form of poetry or any other literary form; as writing reflects customs, traditions and heritage, stressing the need of Qatar and Arab countries for cultural efforts in response to globalization and global conditions that call for the passage of values, feelings and messages through writing, which maximizes the role of writers and intellectuals and makes society reliable due to the great ability literature provides in achieving positive change.
For his part, writer Jamal Fayez spoke about the great role played by the Forum in the Qatari cultural scene, whether through the launch of new publications in all fields of literature or through the events it organizes.
Finally, the attending writers and guests of this literary activity listened to some excerpts reading by the guest authors. The start was with the young Qatari journalist and writer Ahmed Ali Al-Hammadi. Some of these writers included the following: Ibtisam Ismail Shakush, Andalus Ibrahim, Dr. Khalid Abdul Jabbar, Dr. Sven Saad, Mokhtar Khawaja, Massoud Ahmed Khalaf, and Mona Babti.