On Thursday 31 October 2024, the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts and the Syriac Writers and Authors Union held a celebration on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the birth of the first Syriac newspaper, at the Chaldean Family Club Hall in Erbil’s Ankawa District.
The ceremony, which was held under the auspices of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Culture and Youth Ministry, began with a speech by the Syriac Writers and Authors Union delivered by its president Rawand Paulus. In it, he discussed the circumstances of the Syriac press’ establishment and the most prominent stages that accompanied its journey. This was followed with a speech from the Kurdistan Regional Government, delivered by Transport and Communications Minister Anu Jawhar Abdoka, in which he emphasised the Regional Government’s role in supporting the national languages and cultures of components coexisting in the region.
After that, Azad Hamad Amin, president of the Iraqi Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate, gave a speech. This was followed with a discussion panel moderated by poet Miqdad Chula. One of its speakers was journalist Rudy Sher, who spoke about, “The Impact of our Digital Journalism on Preserving Cultural and Religious Identity in the Middle East.” Journalist Hanan Awisha also touched on, “The Reality of Women’s Journalism through my Personal Experience.” After that, journalist Bassem Francis discussed, “A Vision of the Reality and Challenges facing Syriac Journalism in Iraq.”
The ceremony included a traditional musical segment, with oud and guitar, played by artist Dilawar Marcos. Following this was a speech from the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts, delivered by its Director General Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna. In it, he confirmed that, “The General Directorate decided this year to start organising an annual program on the occasion of the Syriac Journalism Day, which includes honouring an elite group of our people’s journalists, in appreciation of their efforts and journalistic achievements in the journalistic and media field.” He further noted that, “The commendation includes all our people’s journalists from different areas of their presence, and we started this year by honouring ten of our people’s journalists. In the coming years, we will honour other elite groups of our people’s media professionals.”
Oghanna explained that, “Our duty today is to remember the first building block in Syriac journalism that was laid by the first journalists, who suffered difficulties and paid the price for the free word at that time.” He also noted that, “We must remember today the martyrs of the free word, who sacrificed their blood for it, as our people’s journalism is written in blood, and we must be proud of it and move forward with it to develop it.”
The ceremony concluded by honouring a group of journalists from various media outlets, working in Syriac journalism, in appreciation of their media achievements. The gold medal for journalism was distributed by: Transport and Communications Minister Anu Jawhar Abdoka, Deputy Culture and Youth Minister Aryan Salahadin, Kurdistan Regional Government Culture and Youth Ministry Director General Khalil Abdullah, Syriac Culture and Arts Director General Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna, and Syriac Writers and Authors Union Secretary General Rawand Paulus. The honourees included: Shimon Sliwa Matti (Zagros Channel, Erbil), Shlimon Daoud Oraham (Iraqi Syriac Channel, Baghdad), Janan Paulus (Beth-Ankawa Newspaper, Ankawa), Nimrud Qasha (Voice of Peace Radio, Bakhdida), Behnam Shaba Daoud (Media and Cultural Activist, Bartella), Dilaram Buya Yousif (Ankawa Today, Ankawa), Valentina Youarish Haido (Palace of Culture and Arts, Erbil), Eva Habib Karim (Ishtar Channel, Alqosh), Naseem Sadiq (Activist and Journalist, Duhok), and Maryam Shmoil (Zabu Media, Duhok).
It is worth noting that our people celebrate Syriac Journalism Day in connection with the publication of the first Syriac-language newspaper, which bore the name “Zahrire d-Bahra” (Rays of Light). Its first issue was published on 1 November 1849, at the city of Urmia in Iran.
