AWAKEN is our beloved community-building program, developed with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, which has been bringing people together across divides in a variety of creative ways since 2018. The ultimate goal of the program is to enable authentic and meaningful connections across communities, and to explore how we can collectively contribute to building a more resilient, compassionate and inclusive society.

AWAKEN in the Desert 2023 - Once Upon a Time

On November 23rd we hosted our second edition of AWAKEN in the Desert, a day of playful, artistic, poetic, thought-provoking activities that we hope, helped us (re)connect to ourselves, to each other, and to this place we all call home. We embarked on a journey into the depths of our memory, the roots of our belonging, while also celebrating inclusion, diversity and togetherness.

Our Facilitators

Areej Saleh - Founder of Art Scene, Areej Saleh is a Palestinian-American writer and creative who mixes cocktails of music, memory & mathematics to touch on subjects of culture & creativity, while cracking jokes in-between. She’s been writing, performing and community organizing for 8 years, and believes in the infinite power of the individual as a catalyst for change. She will be facilitating ‘Perspectives: creative writing workshop’ and the ‘Open Mic by Art Scene’. Beginning in September of 2022, Art Scene has run multi-media hangouts, showcases and open mics that have succeeded in giving artists the space to explore creativity and the connections we can make through art.

Ahmed Soliman - An immensely talented illustrator, he believes that learning new ways to see and draw people and the world around us can be a way of journaling and keeping track of what we find interesting or important. He will be co-facilitating ‘We were here, we are here!’, an activity dedicated to create a collective art installation through the creative exploration of our individual memories.

Carina Maceira - Cari is a poet, environmentalist, kindergarten teacher, community organizer and baker- but in the context of AWAKEN she's known for the stone soup! An ode to her favorite children's story book, The Stone Soup, invites you to ‘The Fire’ to explore memory through storytelling, cuisine and the gathering power of a giant bonfire and good soup, made by the community, with your ingredients, for the community. Cari will also be co-facilitating Mapping Belonging, the social cartography tool developed by the AWAKEN Community of Practice as an experimental research method to understand how the different traits of our identities determine the emotions that we associate to Kuwait’s spaces.

Eleanor Burton - Training and Relationship Manager at en.v, Eleanor has been working in training, design and rights-based community building for the past 25 years. She will be facilitating the Awaken Story Slam and the Human Scavenger Hunt. Eleanor believes play and storytelling are beautiful tools for facilitating community connection.

Fatemah Ashkanani - Fatemah is a vibrant Filipino-Kuwaiti deeply driven by fostering connections through the enchanting realms of food, music, and culture. With over three years of dedicated involvement in youth empowerment spaces, her empathy and magnetic energy make her a catalyst for shared moments of magic and understanding. She is also the Alumni Coordinator at the American University of Kuwait. She will be facilitating ‘Silent Disco Match’, a powerful activity designed to make us connect through dancing, and also co-facilitating the ‘Sports Day (Hour)’, which will take us back to the fun games we used to play in school!

Fatemah AlHabib (Qesati) - A visionary advocate for fostering open, creative, and unified communities, her passion lies in creating spaces where people can come together to explore the profound impact of communication, collaboration and storytelling. She will be facilitating two workshops “My Inner Child: childhood picture exchange” and “Unmasking Child/Adult Self”. They are both meant to help us connect to our inner child through the powerful methods of visualization and storytelling. The aim of these workshops is to reminisce about cherished childhood memories, delving into a sense of nostalgia and belonging.

Hussein Hosny (Pickups) - Hussein is a talented Egyptian and Filipino photographer based in Kuwait. His work focuses on the intersection between nostalgia and identity. He is the founder of Pickups, a project dedicated to documenting the people of Kuwait with the snacks that fuel their happiness and nostalgia.

Anonym(us) - A platform where people can share their stories and experiences without fear of judgment. Their goal is to create a community among anonymous storytellers, artists, and poets who find comfort in knowing that other people think like them. They will be hosting two different workshops at AWAKEN: ‘Life Timeline’ and ‘Stories Told Through Zines’.

Khadija Rangwala - Operations Manager at en.v, Khadija has been working in the civic sector in Kuwait for 16 years now. She has been exploring ways of driving social change by creating spaces to rediscover the power of food as a tool for fostering understanding and connection across communities. The communal eating tradition specific to the Bohra community sparked the idea for Namak. It helps transcend cultural barriers as we share stories and flavors in an intimate and guided setting. She will be hosting our beautiful lunch activity, Namak.

Lynn Pais - Lynn is an Anthropology major with a drive for community engagement, cultural exploration, and authentic connections. She is passionate about leading initiatives that foster cultural awareness and understanding as well as music, weaving melodies that resonate with audiences. Lynn will be facilitating Sidra, a role-playing game designed to spark reflections about inclusion and empathy in our local context, and she will also co-facilitate Antakshari, the singing game that was everyone’s favorite from last year’s AWAKEN in the Desert!

Mohammed Ahmed - Mohammed Ahmed is a pianist, composer, playlist maestro, and a long-standing member of the AWAKEN Community of Practice. He is also the Vice President of Art Scene, where artists and creatives connect, collaborate, build community, and amplify the symphony of art and creativity. Mohammed will be treating our ears all day with a playlist curated intentionally for AWAKEN: Once Upon A Time.

Norah Al-Tararwah - Norah is a 27-year-old literature graduate turned into an early years teacher. She is fascinated by the concept of healing through inner child work for both individuals and communities. She will be co-facilitating The Fire.

Reem Al-Ali - An oral historian, Reem has been working in research and translation for the past 20 years. She will be co-facilitating a song-collecting activity designed to gather multicultural lullabies and songs from childhood.

Saja Alsaadon - Saja is an Artist who loves to let people BE in art... to express themselves with paint and brush on a canvas. She will be facilitating the ‘Inner Child Gazing & Art Workshop’, an experience designed to enable connections between strangers through the power of vulnerability, remembrance and creative expression.

Sarah Al Qaoud - Sarah AlQaoud is an educator of small humans, teaching them how to act on a daily basis by day, and a cat mom by night. As the talented drama therapist that she is, Sarah will facilitate the Drama Club, where we will use the magic of improv theater to unlock new levels of connection (to ourselves, to others and to the present moment). Sarah will also be co-facilitating the Sports Day (Hour)! Fun guaranteed.

Taiba Pattan - Taiba sees herself as an artist – embracing that definition – she hopes to create something that will live beyond her. With the deeply creative and poetic mind that she has, Taiba will be co-facilitating three activities this year: Unmasked, Antakshari, and We were here, we are here!

Zainab Mirza - Zainab is a writer and editor who calls Kuwait home. Frustrated with the limited representation of South Asian residents in Gulf literature, she is currently writing Kuwait-based short stories from a South Asian lens, exploring social issues and themes of identity and belonging from the perspectives of those often considered outsiders. Zainab will co-facilitate Mapping Belonging and Multicultural Lullabies.

The Activities

A communal eating experience reimagined to transcend cultural barriers and foster meaningful connections.
The purpose behind this activity is to share cherished childhood memories, immersing ourselves in nostalgia, as we explore old photographs and engage in meaningful conversations that inspire us. These discussions serve as a reminder that each person is on a unique journey, and together, we support and guide one another on this shared path called life.
‘Perspectives’ is a creative writing & poetry workshop exploring memory and point of view. How can we retell the stories we grew up hearing? How can we recognize patterns, and pathways, that show us the same beginnings, middles and ends, and how can we break free from a cadence of lullabies when we are instead looking for our heroic epics?
Like delicate threads weaving through the loom of time, participants engage in a dual exploration of hand imprinting and self-portraiture.
Through self-portraiture, participants are invited to reconnect with their childhood selves, capturing not only their present but also the echoes of their past. With hand imprinting they will leave their unique mark on the fabric of shared memories —creating a living mosaic of intertwined hands and hearts.
Each handprint, each portrait will be a testament to presence, belonging and togetherness, becoming a vivid thread of collective experience — a visual symphony of the beauty found in the simple act of being present together chanting — we were here – we are here!
We will share personal stories with one another to celebrate the richness of our experiences, celebrating both our diversity and our shared humanity.
This activity will take us on an emotional tour down memory lane as we explore feelings in connection to different spaces in Kuwait, like the park we learned how to cycle at or our friendly neighborhood falafel shop. How do we remember places we grew up in? How can areas we’ve only been to once hold power over us? We’ll discuss all this and more as we dwell on resurfacing memories around space and the emotions they bring up.
We’ll cook together a giant soup with the vegetables that everyone brought, while engaging in meaningful conversations about memory, nostalgia, culture and identity.
Step into the rhythm of the past with ‘Silent Disco Match’! Unleash the power of your favorite tunes as you dance through a nostalgic journey to find your musical counterpart. It’s not just a silent disco; it’s a unique celebration of shared memories and connections through beats of the songs that define us. Join us for a harmonious adventure where laughter, joy, and the magic of music collide.
Once upon a time, once a year, we would all get together for a day of games, races & competition! Join us for an hour of Sports Day to awaken your competitive inner child.
Gathered under the twinkling stars, ‘Melodies of memory’ will rekindle the cherished game of Antakshari. The rules are simple – we sit in a circle with a cascade of tunes set afloat as one song seams into another – revisiting the tones that defined our childhood.
We will navigate the delicate alchemy between who we once were and who we’ve become. In the process, we will delve into the dusty corners of childhood and the façade of adulthood through reflective introspection – hopefully emerging with acceptance for all that has transpired in the years that have gone by, embracing our authenticity, and allowing both childhood innocence and adult wisdom to coexist harmoniously within us.

A fun game where we will encounter one another in a playful way that acknowledges all the experiences represented in our community.
The Pickups booth at AWAKEN is an interactive visual installation picturing popular snacks. We will write down our memories and recollections associated with different snacks, collectively transforming the booth into a collaborative tapestry of nostalgic narratives. We will engage in conversations and reminisce about the joyous moments shared with these snacks.
‘Life Timeline’ is aimed to help recall aspects and moments of our lives that we tend to overlook or underestimate and see the connection between those and the ones we give more importance to. ‘Stories told through zines’ is where we get to connect to each other with stories we’ve collected in hopes of forming an anonym(us) community of shared experiences.
Let’s get together to role-play while exploring the commonalities and differences between us, and to reflect on the different ways we navigate the intricate web of social dilemmas offered to us by this place we all call home. Sidra aims to create an inclusive and engaging experience where we will develop new perspectives about the way we perceive ourselves and others.
we will connect with total strangers by gazing into each other’s eyes in search for the inner child that they reflect, to then artistically express what we saw and create heartfelt bonds by exchanging messages of love and support for each other and our individual journeys.
Perhaps your mother made up a lullaby to sing you to sleep when you were a baby. Or maybe when you were little, your nanny sang you songs she grew up listening to. Join us as we gather multicultural lullabies and songs from our childhood and share the memories attached to them.
Our friends from the Ethiopian Domestic Workers Association will be sharing their beautiful Ethiopian coffee ceremony and delicious coffee with us all afternoon.
Let’s embrace the silliness of drama games and the joy of group play! Come and release your inhibitions with us at Drama Club.
We are delighted that our friends and community partners from the Nepali community group Shramik Sanjal will share with us a Nepali cultural performance in the evening.
Finishing off the night Art Scene is running an Open Mic, where 10 performers (chosen from a magic hat) will be given the chance to take the stage with poetry, music or performance in front of an audience as a showcase of the many talents that exist within the community, as well as the importance of the arts in connection and collaboration.

Mapping Belonging

Over the course of 2023, and in collaboration with our Community of Practice, we have been taking one of the most powerful tools we experimented with last year, Mapping Belonging, out into the wider community.

Mapping Belonging is a social cartography exercise that consists of identifying the different emotions that we associate with the different places where our lives (and the lives of other members of our society) take place. It encourages us to explore, from a place of curiosity, our conceptions of identity, belonging, difference and otherness, and gain deeper insights about our individual and collective lived experiences.

It is a tool that serves as a participatory and experimental research method, while also creating a positive impact on the participants in the process of being implemented: it increases our ability to understand social diversity and empathize with other perspectives and values.

Collective emotional mapping takes us out of the bubble of our individual worldview and shows us that we are part of a larger system where many different people find many different sources of meaning. A higher sense of self-awareness and social awareness are both key ingredients to the process of strengthening community bonds from a place of compassion and resilience, and they establish the grounds for positive interpersonal interaction and transformative change.

Over the past year, we have been working with our AWAKEN Community of Practice to further refine and test out this tool, and facilitate it across diverse communities in Kuwait, collecting valuable data and promoting self-reflection and connection.