In a unique opportunity to explore how music and the media can serve as platforms to speak out against injustice and for peace, Arab hip hop artists the Narcicyst and Omar Offendum will perform their latest works and participate in a discussion at USIP with Manal Omar, director of Iraq Programs and Theo Dolan, senior program officer at the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. Dolan recently returned from Iraq where he worked with local media partners to film a reality TV program for Iraqi youth called “Salam Shabab” -- the only reality TV show for the next generation of Iraqi peacebuilders. Theo will present clips from the show and discuss how peace media can help to change attitudes among Iraqi youth.

Performing in the U.S. from coast to coast, the Narcicyst and Omar Offendum are no strangers to the American (and global) hip hop scenes. Born in Iraq and currently living in Montreal, the Narcicyst’s lyrics, both in English and Arabic, deal with his seemingly opposed identities rooted in both the East and West. 

Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American based out of Los Angeles who just released his first full-length album “SyrianamericanA” that explores his Damascus roots while paying tribute to Syrian Poet Nizzar Qabbani and Egyptian musician Abdul Halim al-Hafez. Both artists will speak about how their music promotes messages of peace and change among youth.  

Speakers

• The Narcicyst, Panelist
  Iraqi Hip Hop Artist
• Omar Offendum, Panelist
  Syrian-American Hip Hop Artist and Producer
• Mana, Panelist
  Iranian Hip Hop Artist
• Theo Dolan, Panelist
  Program Officer in the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, U.S. Institite of Peace
• Manal Omar, Moderator
  Director of Iraq Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace