The student competitors with members of the judging panel and staff from the Institute. Justin is third from right. 

Alumnus Justin Goad continues his support of students

Alumnus Justin Goad continues his support of students learning Arabic through the Alexandria Poetry Declamation Prize.

The Alexandria Poetry Declamation Prize was founded in 1993 by alumnus Justin Goad (Arabic & Islamic Studies 1988) and a lecturer at the Institute of Arabic & Islamic Studies, to promote Arabic language, literature, and culture through poetry amongst undergraduate students of Arabic at the University of Exeter.

Six students took part this year, each reciting a poem of approximately 20 lines in Arabic which they had previously memorised to the audience of students and staff. The recitations were judged by the Syrian poet Yaser Al- Atrash who took part in the event virtually, Bryar Bajalan, a PhD candidate from the institute, Dr Marle Hammond, Senior Lecturer in Arabic Popular Literature & Culture at SOAS and Justin Goad himself.

The competition was close – with two joint winners, Alia Manshi and Samuel Munayar. Both students will have their names engraved on a “hall-of-fame” silver plate alongside the names of all past winners of the competition since it was founded. The winners and runners up receive monetary prizes, funded by Justin Goad.

‌You can view some photos from the event below.

Date: 14 June 2022