In the city of Al-Qutayfah and rural areas of Damascus, a special initiative is changing the bleak post-war landscape through the Culture Bus project launched in August 2025. This project, which currently operates with two buses converted into mobile libraries, aims to bring books and art to the most marginalized areas of Syria, where the educational infrastructure has been almost completely destroyed.

Each vehicle carries approx. 1,200 books and is accompanied by a team of volunteers made up of writers, poets and artists, who organize activities that combine entertainment with education. The philosophy behind this initiative, led by Mohammed Murad, is based on the principle of cultural justice, arguing that culture should not be a privilege of big cities, but an accessible right for every child, regardless of geographical location.

The program offered is rich and comprehensive, including interactive reading sessions, traditional stories, art workshops and educational competitions that allow children to freely explore their talents. For thousands of children like Reem Al-Absi, this bus represents a haven of joy and a rare opportunity to read fairy tales in an environment where libraries are absent.

Beyond the educational function, this mobility is considered a form of peaceful resistance, or as teacher Noura Al-Raslan calls it, a “White Resistance” that uses colors and words to challenge the silence and trauma of war.

The project aims to oppose the decades of cultural centralization and censorship, promoting a new identity based on knowledge and spiritual reconstruction. So far, more than 8,000 children have benefited from this essential service in various provinces such as Tartus and Deir ez-Zor. The urgency of this initiative is underlined by UNICEF’s alarming figures, which show that thousands of schools are out of order, leaving millions of children without access to formal education.

The Culture Bus is serving as a bridge to the country’s rich heritage, teaching children traditional crafts and history under the motto of awareness and reconstruction. With plans to expand to all 14 provinces of the country, this network of mobile libraries is putting books back into the hands of children and planting hope in every corner of the Syrian territory./tesheshi. com/

Source: prizrenpost