Doha Children Cultural Center is proud to present

Right of Return International Arts Festival

May 29-May 31, 2008

Bethlehem University Auditorium

Marking 60 years of the Nakba (Catastrophe) in Palestine, the Doha Children's Cultural Center proudly presents the Right of Return International Arts Festival; a popular festival through which Palestinian folkloric dance, song and theater will be presented to international audiences. The festival also serves to highlight two principal demands of the Palestinian people: the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and lands which they were forced to leave in the 1948 war; and Palestinian self-determination with Jerusalem as our capital.

The festival is made up of three nights, each with different performances:

Thursday, 29 May (starting at 7:30pm at the Bethlehem University Auditorium):

-Opening ceremonies,

-El-Funoun: Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe (Ramallah, Palestine),

-Egyptian popular poet Abdelrahman Al-Abnudi (Egypt, via satellite link)

Friday, 30 May (starting at 8pm at the Bethlehem University Auditorium):

-Al-Majd Folklore Troupe (Nazareth, Palestine),

-Renowned theatrical artist Abu Nisreen (Palestine);

-Marcel Khalifah (Lebanon – via satellite link)

Saturday, 31 May (starting at 8pm at the Bethlehem University Auditorium):

-Wishah Dance Troupe (Ramallah, Palestine);

-Syrian revolutionary singer Sameeh Shuqair (Syria, via satellite link)

-closing ceremonies

This promises to be a historic event, since the three featured artists have been cultural symbols of the movement for freedom and return of refugees for decades, and are not allowed to enter Palestine because of the Israeli occupation. Ticket prices are a symbolic 10NIS per person.

The Doha Children's Cultural Center is a socio-cultural educational organization founded in 2001 to provide educational, cultural and psychological support to the children and women of Al-Doha. Situated between Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Al-Khader and the Duheishah refugee camp. Al-Doha's majority population is made up of working class refugees. Approximately half of the population of Al-Doha are between the ages of 6-18, and are the Center's constituency.

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For more information about the Center, please contact dccc_pal@hotmail.com, or call +972-2-275-4788; or visit http://www.dohachildren.org