Presentation
CEFREPA had the pleasure to host the Director of the Institute of Islamic Studies and Director of the Jean Pepin Center for Research in Latin and Arabic Philosophy in Paris, Dr. Pierre Caye.
The tour included a visit to Kuwait, then Riyadh and Jeddah, where Dr. Pierre Caye gave two lectures. The first lecture in Kuwait was entitled “Thoughts on the Concept of Heritage” and the second in Jeddah was entitled “Ornament at the Service of Cultural Dialog” on the sidelines of the Islamic Arts Biennale currently being held there.
This visit was also an opportunity to meet many personalities from the academic world, many researchers and heads of scientific organizations and cultural institutions in Kuwait, Riyadh, and Jeddah. Most of the meetings resulted in cooperation projects that will be held in the near future with several parties, such as the conference scheduled to be held in 2026 with the House of Islamic Arts in Jeddah on the ornament.
Dr. Makram Abbes announced that another conference will be held in Kuwait in cooperation with Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and the National Council next May. It will focus on new research at the global level in the field of studying ancient Arab thought.
CEFREPA hosted on January 29, 2025 a rich and captivating conference/Debate entitled: « La nostalgie est-elle le nouveau pétrole du monde arabe? » with Sofiane Si Merabet in presence of the Ambassador of France in Kuwait Mr. Olivier Gauvin.
Nostalgia is often described as a feeling frozen in time, or even a curse. At a time when many questions emerge around the definition of Arab identities, this feeling appears more and more as a socio-cultural trait present and claimed in the cultures of the countries of the Arab world. Migration as well as recent political conflicts have helped to spread the idea that “it was better before”. How to define this “Arab nostalgia”? Through the concept of « future of nostalgia applied to Arab regions, Sofiane Si Merabet discussed how history and culture can be, and already are, drivers of development for certain countries.
Sofiane Si Merabet is an artist and cultural entrepreneur living and working in Dubai. A polyglot traveler, he has participated for many years in projects linked to plural identities. Through his Instagram account @theconfusedarab, he explores the concept of “future of nostalgia”, as well as the question of identities and memories in the Arab world and its diaspora. He recently published in 2024, an essay The Confused Arab (Belfond edition) addressing contemporary Arab identities in both a personal and documented manner.
