On Thursday, 10 April 2025, Anika Wadood hosted a brilliant, engaging and inspiring poetry workshop for IHRC’s Palestine Appeal. IHRC have campaigned for Palestinian liberation since its inception, including protests, Al Quds Day, supporting boycotts, raising awareness and beyond.

In this special poetry workshop, our young guests were taught and discusssed the power of words to share stories of resilience and hope for Palestine. It provided a supportive space for kids to honour the Palestinians that have been affected by the ongoing genocide, to celebrate Palestinian culture, learn about perseverance, and turn their thoughts into meaningful poetry.

Anika introduced the event, followed by a comprehensive description of different forms of poetry and the ultimate purpose behind writing poetry. She discussed poetry in Islamic history and the poetry of the Qur’an. Anika also explored the work of Mahmoud Darwish, his biography, and how his poetry is form of resistance and keeps true Palestinian culture alive. She read a couple of Darwish’s poems with the children, and they reflected on how his words made them feel and how they were able to connect to his emotions.

The children did a mind map activity about Palestine, a poetry writing activity with 4 creative poetry forms (haiku, acrostic, free verse and concrete), followed by an interactive discussion about writing techniques.

In the last portion of the workshop, the youngsters wrote their own poems and took turns to read them out. Prizes were gifted to the top 3 poets: a keffiyeh made in Nablus, a book voucher, and a box of Palestinian dates.