At the Rod al-Farag Cultural Palace, the conference “The Poetical Story: Between Transformations of Arab Consciousness and Purposeful Content Creation” opened its 17th session, the Dr. Hussein Manawwar edition, as part of the events of the General Authority of Cultural Palaces chaired by artist Hisham Atwa.

Present at the opening were: Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Saghir, conference president; Abeer Rashidi, Director General of Cultural Associations; Dr. Dina Al-Ashri, editor-in-chief of the Journal of African and Arab Studies and vice president of Nile European University; Dr. Sayed Rashad Barri, deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Al-Arabi magazine; Dr. Ikram Amara, head of the Qalyubia Writers’ Syndicate; Dr. Omaima Muneer Jadu; Dr. Nuran Fouad; Dr. Sawsan Radwan; Dr. Rabee’ al-Sisi; and a host of cultural and executive leaders, writers, researchers, and media professionals.

The conference is organized by the Central Administration of Cultural Affairs and the General Administration of Cultural Associations, in cooperation with the Dar Al-Nisr Literary Association.

The proceedings began with the national anthem, followed by a documentary promo and then the opening session.

In her remarks, Abeer Rashidi welcomed attendees, conveyed greetings from Hisham Atwa, and expressed his wishes for the conference’s success and for the flourishing of the poetical story art.

Prof. Dr. Ahmed Al-Saghir then spoke, emphasizing that Egypt creates in silence, moves with calm, and stands by its history and civilization. He noted that silence is patience and patience is strength; great meanings are often expressed through simple things with deeper impact. He described the poetical story as an Egyptian creative production and a new art form born from the fusion of arts. It is an art of the present and of rapid transformations: the poetical story carries the spirit of narrative and poetry at once, offers a new vision, transcends boundaries, animates events, and appeals to a discerning audience. He added that the text must assert itself and that it is important to distinguish between different levels of criticism.

Dr. Al-Saghir also expressed his pleasure at meeting a constellation of poets, writers, critics, and researchers, saying that listening to and discussing their papers and critical works was a real opportunity for learning and exchanging knowledge. Such cultural gatherings, he said, go beyond a single event to become a human and intellectual space for connection and rapprochement. He mentioned his participation last year (2025) in the defense of a PhD thesis on the poetical story at the Women’s College, Ain Shams University. He praised leading writers in the field, including Ahmed Al-Sarsawi, Mustafa Ammar El-Sheshtawi, Rabiha Al-Rifai, and Khaled Al-Buhi, and commended the conference’s preparation, organization, and the role of cultural media in highlighting its message.

Poet Khaled Al-Nesr, a member of the General Union of Writers of Egypt, delivered a speech on behalf of Dr. Essam Sharaf, former Prime Minister of Egypt and honorary president of the conference. He lauded the work of the organizers and the honorees, stressing that evaluation is not a luxury but a measure of awareness—a compass for reform and the first condition for the desired sustainable progress. He described the poetical story as an innovative literary art of Egyptian origin with modes of communication and capabilities that address digital generations and keep pace with the times. He called for supporting new creativity and speaking to young people in their language without abandoning our linguistic heritage.

He added: “I call for the inclusion of the poetical story in modern literature and criticism curricula at universities as a fully formed literary genre, and for the establishment of workshops for interrelated texts and interactive poetical stories that bring together creators, programmers, and designers to produce them in visual and audio formats. Mechanisms should be put in place to publish them in series, considering the poetical story a cultural product capable of competing.”

The opening session concluded with a tribute to the late critic Hussein Manawwar, and several copies of his book “The Poetical Story: Trajectory and Innovation” were distributed, alongside the conference proceedings and the book “The Poetical Story and the Modern Collective Consciousness” by Dr. Rabiha Al-Rifai. Participating researchers received certificates confirming the publication of their papers in the Journal of African and Arab Studies. Several cultural figures were honored, including: poet Prof. Dr. Ahmed Taymour for his role in enriching the creative movement; poet Mohammed El-Shahat Mohammed, founder and pioneer of the poetical story and general coordinator of the conference; Dr. Ahmed Al-Saghir, conference president; Dr. Hussein Al-Ansari, dean of the Faculty of Arts at Nile European University; Dr. Ibtisam Sayed Ahmed, lecturer in criticism, rhetoric, and comparative literature at the Faculty of Arts, Benha University; Dr. Wafaa Mohamed Sayed, lecturer in psychology at the Faculty of Arts, Capital University; poet Rasha Al-Khatib, member of the board of the General Union of Writers of Egypt; researchers Dania Hussein, Samah Shawky, and Amir Bakir; writer Ahmed Najm; journalist Ahmed Hamdi; and critic Ahmed Kermani.

The first research session, chaired by Ikram Amara, head of the Qalyubia Writers’ Syndicate, discussed three papers: “Representations of National Identity in the Poetical Story,” “Shaping Space and Exploding Meaning: The Open Work,” and “Artistic Structure and Manifestations of Consciousness.”

The second research session, chaired by Dr. Dina Al-Ashri, examined papers titled “The Poetical Story as an Interpretive Event,” “Features of the Intermingling of the Arts in the Poetical Story,” and “The Poetical Story and Artificial Intelligence.” An open evening titled “The Digital Publishing Market and Purposeful Content,” moderated by Ahmed Najm, was also held.

The first day’s activities (22 September) concluded at 2:00 p.m. with an open evening.

The conference continues on its second day with remote sessions via Zoom from 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 September. A number of electronic research sessions will be chaired by Dr. Mustafa Ammar El-Sheshtawi, alongside a roundtable and discussion panels for presenting texts, featuring a select group of writers and researchers. The conference will conclude at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday with the announcement of its recommendations.