Khadija Al-Habshi
Ahzoga

The Ahzoga project is a response to the desperate call of intangible heritage that has slipped through the hands of neglect. It aims to preserve 15 popular folk songs in three cities of Hadhramaut Valley (Tarim, Shibam, Seyiun) in Yemen. The project began with a training phase, followed by field visits that collected the scattered fragments of these songs. Additionally, another team focused on documenting them through audio and visual recordings in short clips for social media platforms. At the end of the project, a film was showcased promoting the culture of documenting intangible heritage and folk songs.

© Goethe Institut - Jordan Khadija Al-Habshi is a cultural activist and a graduate in business administration, working as a quality officer in UNESCO projects. She has actively participated in the establishment of numerous cultural initiatives and events, as well as engaging in artistic and cultural programs and activities. She has also worked as a creative director in local production companies. In 2018, she founded the first artistic and cultural initiative in Hadhramaut Valley under the name Noon. Khadija is recognized as an inspiring figure in the preservation and promotion of artistic and cultural heritage in Hadhramaut, aiming to showcase it to the world. She strives to disseminate Yemeni heritage and culture in a uniquely aesthetic way through the projects she manages and oversees, specializing in the field of intangible oral heritage.


Lieblingsmoment
The best moment during the project implementation was when the elderly were humming, recalling memories of the folk songs from their memories.