Riyadh: The UNESCO Chair in Translating Cultures at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, with support from the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission, hosted a workshop for contributors to its edited volume, 'Translating Cultures and Oral Traditions: An Anthology on Intangible Heritage in the Arab World and the Global South.'
According to Saudi Press Agency, the workshop provided researchers with an opportunity to present and discuss their papers in preparation for publication, offering a multidisciplinary platform to exchange perspectives on the theoretical and practical challenges of preserving oral traditions from an academic standpoint.
The two-day workshop included two presentation sessions during which participants shared their work, discussed it with peers, and exchanged constructive feedback and ideas to enrich the chapters they authored. Participants engaged with the book's main themes from diverse cultural perspectives.
In line with the UNESCO Chair's 2025 theme, 'Translating Cultures and Intangible Heritage,' the workshop contributed to achieving one of the book's key objectives of repositioning translation as a central element in global discourse on oral traditions and folklore. Achieving this goal requires moving beyond a universalized view of orality and toward a theoretical exploration of the unique expressive forms of diverse oral heritage in the Arab world and their relationship with Global South countries. The opportunities provided by the workshop will help participating researchers advance this objective and deepen critical awareness of the performative precision, knowledge richness, and emancipatory dimensions that define oral cultures in the Global South.