After Celebrating our 5th anniversary last year, we got to thinking… what now? We looked at our previous programs, we looked at each other, we looked at the world (yikes…) and wondered were do we belong in all of this.  Join us as we search a sense of belonging through stories, comedy and music in our temporary culture hub ‘De Werkplaats’.

Belonging noun

a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having a good relationship with the other members of the group because they welcome you and accept you: A sense of belonging is one of humanity's most basic needs (Example)

A TRAIL OF POMEGRANATE SEEDS | RASHA HILWI & SAHAND SAHEBDIVANI

The impressive love and life stories of writer and journalist Rasha Hilwi and storyteller Sahand Sahebdivani. Personal stories about leaving their homelands and trying to find belonging will be mixed with a tapestry of songs and folk tales.

Their journey culminates in making two children who, through their parents, have roots in Palestine and Iran. Rasha and Sahand talk about love, lullabies, melancholy and the indomitable spirits of their ancestors.

Rasha Hilwi is a Palestinian writer, storyteller, journalist, editor, and cultural curator. She was born in the city of Akka and is based in Amsterdam. She graduated from the University of Haifa with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology. While she performs mostly in English, she writes in her mother tongue, Arabic. Her texts have been published in major Arabic media platforms and magazines, with several pieces translated into English and Dutch. Her first nonfiction book, on motherhood and home, will be published in the summer of 2026 by “Khan AlJanub” publishing house in Berlin.

Sahand Sahebdivani is the most known storyteller of The Netherlands. In 2004 he founded the Mezrab, which became one of the most prominent storytelling stages of the world. Sahand arrived in the Netherlands as a refugee of the Iran-Iraq war at the age of three. The experiences of him and his family have been the basis of the majority of his work. Sahand also is a father, a writer and the co-director of The Amsterdam Storytelling Festival.

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