Shafaq News- Beirut/ Baghdad/ Erbil

Beirut hosted the Cedar Symposium 2 on Saturday, bringing together around 35 artists from Lebanon and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, for an event promoting coexistence and peace through visual art.

The symposium, which runs through September 8, includes artists representing Baghdad, Karbala, the Kurdistan Region and Khanaqin, Fadia Al-Nuaimi, head of the Fadia Foundation for Culture and Arts, told Shafaq News.

Nihad Al-Khayat, an official at Khanaqin’s Martyr Salam Cultural House, told Shafaq News that the district’s delegation participated in traditional Kurdish clothing and carried the flags of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Read more: Iraq’s diverse Khanaqin spotlights coexistence

The delegation sought to convey Khanaqin’s tradition of peaceful coexistence and a message to participants from Lebanon, Baghdad and Karbala. “We want to live together, respect one another and value life and humanity,” he said.

Khanaqin is also preparing to host further artistic, cultural and social events in the coming days, Al-Khayat revealed, adding that the cultural house’s participation in Beirut reflected its commitment to peace and love.

Read more: Iraqi Kurdistan’s pluralism: A living model of coexistence