World Poetry Day
March 21
Men and Women in Zajal
On World Poetry Day, ICOMOS Lebanon highlights the richness of Lebanon’s oral poetic tradition of Zajal, inscribed in 2014 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Zajal embodies the power of language as living heritage – transmitted through performance, dialogue, and communal gathering. Often held in historic settings, these poetic encounters connect living traditions to cultural places.
Safeguarding heritage means protecting not only monuments and sites, but also the voices and practices that give them meaning. ICOMOS Lebanon recognizes the contribution of both men and women in sustaining Lebanon’s poetic traditions across generations.
