International festival of visually impaired musicians in Tunisia

Poster of the festival (facebook)

Starting on Thursday 3rd December and until Saturday 5th December, the first round for the International Festival for Blind Musicians will be held in Tunisia’s capital, Tunis. The festival chose for its first round to honor one of the icons of the Arab music, the late Sheikh Imam.

This festival, the first of its kind in Africa and the Arab countries, will host blind musicians from Tunisia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, Libya, Jordan, Palestine, and France, according to AlAraby AlJadeed.

Mohamed Al-Mansoury, head of the festival, told Al-Araby, “The first round of the festival will celebrate one of the most important Arab blind musicians, Sheikh Imam. Each participating artist will sing or perform one of Sheikh Imam’s songs.”

He added, “This festival is the first of its kind in the region. Arts are the best way to make the people with special needs be able to fit in with the society.” He pointed how the crafts and artworks by blind people or others with special needs play a vital role in introducing human rights, exchanging experiences and cultures through the participation of visually impaired artists from many countries.

He pointed to Al-Araby AlJadeed that the festival isn’t looking to make a profit out of this, as all the performances will be held in cultural spaces around the Tunisian capital for free, as they aim to draw in the largest crowd possible. They aim to change people’s ideas of blind people through making them observe the different creative products they have to offer.

The international festival of blind musicians is described by Al-Mansoury as the first building block for ensuring the establishment of human rights for people with disabilities, especially when it comes to participating in cultural life, sports, and entertainment activities.