Centenary of Abou El Kacem Chebbi - Kick-off in Tozeur

"When people want life, we meet the fate of the darkness ... to remove the chains and break ..." These worms in Chebbi from his poem "The will to live" have tapped our mind on the occasion of the centennial celebration of our famous national poet whose next novel is on a dream of change and reconsideration of the human condition by the fight against anything that might prevent the evolution of man.

A centenary celebrated with great pomp in Tozeur and in all regions of the country and total mobilization of the Ministry of Culture and the Safeguard of Heritage, which has all necessary means to bring this event to be marked with a white stone .

The kickoff was given yesterday by Mr. Tozeur Abderraouf El Basti, Minister of Culture and the Safeguard of Heritage in the presence of numerous guests, men of culture and especially of Arab poets such as: Samih Al Kacem (Palestine), Hayder Mahmoud (Jordan), Ahmed Hijazi Abdelmôti (Egypt) and Omrani Wafa (Morocco) and Tunisians including: Moncef Mezghenni, Sghaier Ouled Ahmed, Moncef Louhaibi, Rzougua Youssef, Mohamed Gozzi, Fadhila Chebbi, to name only them.

In his press conference, the Minister emphasized the fact that this year 2009, is an exceptional year and that our country is at a rate of large-scale cultural events from the fact that culture has always played a crucial role in developing nations and in achieving their expansion inside and outside.

The minister highlighted the decisions of the presidential front-runner in support of culture and creative programming in a number of major events including: Kairouan, the capital of Islamic culture, the centennial of the theater Tunisia, the centenary of Chebbi and other events dedicated to no less famous personalities as Fadhel Ben Achour, Ali Douâgi and Hedi Jouini. Specialized committees involving intellectuals and creators have been established at the opportunity to update the programs in line with our expectations.

Regarding the celebration of the centenary of the poet of freedom - and author of "Al Hayet Aghani" - we were told that this is also an occasion to celebrate the poetry of Tunisia's past and present and through it, all our poets. It is not momifier of cultural symbols, but to pay tribute to all those who participated in literary and intellectual movement in Tunisia, and whose reputation has exceeded our borders.

The celebration of the centenary of Chebbi began - as we have to quote - February 24, date of birth of poet and will end on October 9, the day of his death. On this occasion, took place yesterday the inauguration of a documentary exhibition at the mausoleum Chebbi Tozeur, followed by a recital of poetry with the participation of Tunisian and Arab poets.

Another milestone, the publication of books dealing with life and work of the poet, the translation of his poems in English, French and Spanish as well as the creation of a website where a large space will be reserved .

For Samih Al Kacem, Palestinian poet and guest of Tozeur, in Chebbi is the Arab world, Tunisian poet best known, "I would have liked, he said, that other partners involved in the festivities as the League of Arabs and the Arab Union of Writers.

I wish that the Arab countries are celebrating the fact as to Chawki Egypt and Iraq for Al Jawahri ... "