On the 25th anniversary of the Ararat Socio-Cultural Center in Rome the Kurds will tell their story with a day of celebration and meeting.

For the occasion, Ararat is repeating the action carried out at the market in 2002, with a new artistic and community operation entitled “Nanê xweyî xweş bide neyarê xwe… Gotinê xweyî xweş bide hevalê xwe / Give good food to the enemy… give good words to friend” together with Stalker, Ati, students of the Civic Arts Course and the Master Environmental Humanities of the Roma Tre University.

The program for today is as follows:

11am: Participatory construction of wooden toys for children

1pm: Lunch

4pm: Walking with the Last - Dino Frisullo, story of a militant eager for knowledge and love, who lived and died poor and curious. Presentation of the book dedicated to Dino Frisullo, friend of the Kurdish people and first president of the Ararat Socio-Cultural Center.

6pm: 25 Years of the Ararat center – Past, present and future of the Kurds in Italy

History of Ararat and the Kurdish movement in Italy

Coordinator: Gianluca Peciola – Human rights activist and writer

Speakers:

Gerardo Mannello – Former mayor of Badolato

Francesco Careri – Stalker

Aldo Innocenzi – Stalker

Simonetta Crisci – President of the SenzaConfine Association

Alfonso Perrotta

Heval Talip – Kurdish activist

Ararat within the context of the City of Arts

Coordinator: Alfonso Perrotta

Speakers:

Yuri Trombetti – President of the Rome Capital Heritage Commission

Michela Cicculli – President of the Equal Opportunities Commission of the Municipality of Rome

Umberto Marroni – Collaborator of the Mayor of Rome for the valorisation of the former slaughterhouse

Claudia Santaloce – Councilor for social policies, municipality I of Rome Centre

Yilmaz Orkan – Director of the Kurdistan Information Office in Italy

Said Dursun – Co-president Ararat Socio-Cultural Center

From 7pm: Dinner

9pm: concert

Ashti Abdo – Kurdish singer, multi-instrumentalist, musician and composer

Govend performance (Kurdish folk dances)

All day:

Berxwedan Jiyane – Resistance is Life – 25 Years of Ararat in Testaccio

Historical exhibition of the Ararat archive

Art installation AKA Kurdistan

Artistic Installation The Flying Carpet

Photographic exhibition by Simona Granati

Photographic exhibition by Alessandro Romagnoli

Photo exhibition by Francesca Mazzara

3D exhibition by the Staffetta Sanitaria

Audiovisual room with documentaries, archive footage and more

Children's space