Workshop "Roots & Reflections: Coffee, Culture and Art", Human Rights Centre, University of Padova, May 26, 2026

The workshop is designed to explore how different geography shapes who we are not only through culture and memories, but also through the systems we live within.  
By systems, we mean the everyday structures around us such as education, work opportunities, social expectations, and the ways we move and connect in society. These factors often influence our choices, our sense of belonging, and how we imagine our future.

While these systems may differ between countries like Iraq and Italy, people across contexts  share similar questions: Where do I belong? What do I carry with me? And what shapes my  path?  

This workshop creates a space to reflect on these questions through dialogue and artistic expression. It begins with personal reflections, moves into shared discussions using nostalgic images from both Iraq and Italy, and concludes with an art activity where participants express their own sense of memory, place, and belonging.  

Rather than focusing on differences alone, the workshop invites participants to find connections, highlighting both the visible and invisible ways our environments shape us, and what remains constant beyond them. 
 

Guest speakers

• Ghazala Jango, Yazidi journalist and humanitarian worker from Sinjar, Iraq.
• Rand Sabeeh, Iraqi activist from Nineveh.
• Zahraa Sarraf, pharmacist with experience in global health and international development.

Free participation upon registration at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdkR_Uomjup4ScXOeueHXcuJtlFr2-8K1uxph4xmrYy7vyvqg/viewform 

The seminar is promoted by: Advocacy Hub - Students' Voices at the Human Rights Center, in collaboration with the “Antonio Papisca” Human Rights Centre and the UNESCO Chair in “Human Rights, Democracy, and Peace,” University of Padova.