Palestinian Poet Hanan Awwad Named Silk Road Literature Personality of the Year 2026

Cairo – Darna Museum

The Silk Road Literature series, founded in 2016 by Egyptian poet, novelist, and journalist Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, celebrated the tenth anniversary of its launch as a cross-cultural literary project dedicated to building bridges among world cultures and literatures through translation, publishing, and creative dialogue.

Hosted by Darna Museum on the evening of June 18, the celebration featured a poetry gathering and artistic performances, during which Palestinian writer Dr. Hanan Awwad was honored with the 2026 Cultural Personality of the Year Award, continuing the annual tradition of recognizing figures who have contributed significantly to strengthening cultural dialogue among peoples.

The event reaffirmed Darna Museum’s role as a vibrant artistic and cultural beacon. Founded by internationally acclaimed artist Abdel Razek Okasha, the museum houses one of the most remarkable private collections of international art on the banks of the Nile. Unable to attend due to health-related travel to Paris, Okasha sent a recorded message praising the efforts of Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid in building cultural bridges across continents, particularly between Asia and Africa. He also paid tribute to the honoree, Dr. Hanan Awwad, for her literary achievements and national struggle on behalf of her homeland, Palestine, as well as to the museum’s spiritual patron, veteran poet Zein El-Abdin Fouad, the guest of honor of the celebration.

In his address, Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid stated:

“Greetings to Palestine, which writes its history through both word and action, and greetings to creativity inseparable from the values of freedom and dignity.”

He explained that the Scientific Council of the Silk Road Creativities series had selected Dr. Hanan Awwad as the 2026 Personality of the Year, in recognition of her exceptional career that has combined scholarship, creativity, and national commitment, and for her intellectual and cultural contributions that have transcended Palestine’s borders to become part of Arab and human cultural memory.

The selection followed an extensive evaluation of her diverse achievements, which represent a rare integration of intellectual, activist, and academic roles. From her earliest years in Jerusalem, she carried Palestine in both thought and conscience, making education a parallel instrument of national struggle. Her academic journey took her through some of the world’s leading institutions, including Al-Quds University, Beirut Arab University, Al-Azhar University, McGill University, and Oxford University, where she earned distinguished academic credentials and demonstrated the remarkable role of Palestinian women in intellectual, scholarly, and creative spheres.

Her academic excellence evolved into a comprehensive cultural and national project that bridged Eastern and Western cultures while presenting the Palestinian as a global citizen capable of engaging the world through knowledge and dialogue. Her scholarly contributions were complemented by a prominent political and cultural presence through her membership in the Palestinian National Council and the Palestinian Central Council, as well as the national responsibilities entrusted to her by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who had great confidence in her ability to represent Palestine internationally and advocate for the rights of its people.

Alongside her national engagement, her literary career flourished through poetry, prose, and political and literary essays. Her publications have become an integral part of Palestinian and Arab libraries, documenting pivotal stages of Palestinian history—from resistance and siege to identity and freedom. Through her writings, the voice of Palestine has reached diverse languages and cultures, affirming that literature can serve as a bridge for human solidarity and civilizational dialogue.

Receiving the award, Dr. Hanan Awwad delivered a message from Jerusalem, expressing her gratitude:

“With great pride and deep emotion, I greet you from the city of cities, Jerusalem, and from the hope of the Palestinian people in freedom and independence. I thank Silk Road Magazine for this recognition of free expression, committed literature, and a cultural journey that believes the writer’s role extends beyond creativity to becoming a witness to truth and a defender of justice and human dignity.”

She paid tribute to Egypt, describing it as a historical center of culture, enlightenment, and creativity, and praised Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid for transforming the magazine into a global platform for dialogue, creativity, and intercultural exchange.

Awwad emphasized that the honor represented not only a personal distinction but also recognition for Palestine itself:

“This award is a medal on the chest of Palestine before it is a medal on my own chest.”

She concluded with a heartfelt tribute to Gaza and the Palestinian people, reaffirming hope, steadfastness, and the pursuit of freedom.

A Project That Began in Cairo and Reached the World

Launched in 2016, the Silk Road Creativities series was established to introduce literary voices from Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America to Arab readers through direct translations and carefully selected works by poets, novelists, and thinkers from diverse cultures.

Within a decade, the project evolved into a unique literary platform combining publishing, translation, and cultural exchange while drawing inspiration from the historical Silk Road as a symbol of human and civilizational communication.

The initiative has received wide international recognition, with cultural institutions praising its role in uniting creative energies from Asia and Europe and promoting literary dialogue among nations. This recognition has been reflected in numerous international honors awarded to its founder.

Last year, UNESCO Ambassador, poet, and thinker Dr. Alexandra Ochirova was named Silk Road Creativity Personality of the Year during a ceremony hosted by the World Peoples Assembly in Moscow.

Eastern Music on the Silk Road

The celebration also featured a special artistic program titled “Eastern Music on the Silk Road.”

Musician and composer Majed Mounir performed selections inspired by Eastern musical heritage, highlighting the richness of Egyptian artistic identity while opening channels of dialogue with the cultures of the Silk Road.

Young violin virtuoso Yassin Majed Mounir, known as the “Golden Violin Boy,” presented solo performances that combined authentic Eastern sensibilities with refined technical mastery. Majed Mounir also performed a musical rendition of a poem by poet and publisher Magdy Aboul-Kheir, dedicated to steadfast Gaza.

Singer Hassan Khalil revived the spirit of Umm Kulthum through a selection of her songs, performed both inside Darna Museum and later aboard a traditional Nile felucca that carried guests on a concluding journey from Al-Qursaya Island to the Nile Corniche.

Poetry for Martyrs, Night, and Life

As part of the tenth-anniversary celebrations, the event brought together distinguished poetic voices whose work has enriched contemporary Arab poetry.

Participating poets included Hanan Awwad, Zein El-Abdin Fouad, Marwa Nabil, Tarek Hashem, and Ashraf Aboul-Yazid, each presenting selected poems reflecting the richness of human experience and diverse aesthetic visions.

Hanan Awwad recited a poem dedicated to the struggle of Gaza. Zein El-Abdin Fouad commemorated his friend, the late Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, through poetry and storytelling. Tarek Hashem read a poem inspired by memories of his father from his collection The Invention of Homer.

Marwa Nabil transported the audience into her philosophical and poetic world, while Ashraf Aboul-Yazid read from his children’s poetry collection The Poet, illustrated by the late artist Helmi El-Touni.

From A Monotonous Space That Breeds Melancholy to The Epic of Eurasia

The evening also reviewed notable publications released within the Silk Road Creativities series over the past decade.

The first title was A Monotonous Space That Breeds Melancholy by Indian poet Hemant Devate, which inaugurated the project in 2016.

Subsequent publications included works by writers and poets from Korea, India, Egypt, Taiwan, Nigeria, Russia, the UAE, Azerbaijan, and China, among many others. The series has also published books in Sindhi, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Malayalam, German, Serbian, Russian, and English.

Speaking about translation, Dr. Ashraf Aboul-Yazid reflected:

“Sometimes I feel I have lived a thousand years, perhaps two thousand. Not because time granted me an extraordinary lifespan, but because I am a translator living through the lives of others. Every poet I translate adds a chapter to my life, and every novelist whose language I cross grants me a new age.”

He continued:

“Translation is not the transfer of words; it is the passage of the soul across time and place. It carries us toward the shores of mutual understanding, where civilizations, languages, and peoples meet beneath one sky and where the banners of peace fly above their beautiful differences.”

Reviving the Spirit of the Road

Over the past decade, the series has expanded to include poetry, fiction, children’s literature, and international anthologies featuring writers from China, India, South Korea, Russia, Azerbaijan, Nigeria, Taiwan, Mongolia, and many other countries.

The project has also produced the Silk Road Anthology series, gathering hundreds of poets around themes such as Asia Sings, Mediterranean Waves, Ancient Egyptians, Contemporary Poets, One Thousand and One Nights and the Poets of the World, and Nano Poems for Africa.

The philosophy of Silk Road Creativities views translation not merely as a transfer of texts but as a means of building mutual understanding among nations. This vision reflects the lifelong dedication of Ashraf Aboul-Yazid to travel literature and Silk Road studies, including his illustrated encyclopedia on the Silk Road published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Scenes of Honor

The Cultural Personality of the Year trophy is a symbolic mixed-media artwork. Its papyrus base represents the history of writing and documentation, while a vinyl record symbolizes the lyrical spirit of poetry and its universal reach across the four corners of the globe.

During the ceremony, Hanan Awwad presented her Palestinian keffiyeh and the Jerusalem Shield to Ashraf Aboul-Yazid. She also draped Zein El-Abdin Fouad with a Palestinian keffiyeh and presented poet Magdy Aboul-Kheir with a Palestine and Jerusalem sash.

In return, Zein El-Abdin Fouad awarded Awwad the Darna Museum Medal, gifted by Abdel Razek Okasha. Journalist and writer Somaya Abdel Moneim presented the museum medal to Zein El-Abdin Fouad, while Magdy Aboul-Kheir awarded the honoree the Excellence Shield on behalf of Al-Nasher Publishing House.

A Decade of Creativity… and New Horizons

Ten years after its launch, Silk Road Creativities has become far more than a book series. It has evolved into an international cultural project connecting continents, languages, and generations.

As the initiative celebrates its first decade, the coming years promise even more translations, publications, and cultural events that will continue reviving the spirit of the Silk Road in contemporary world literature.