This Festschrift is published in honour of Professor Terry C. Falla on the occasion of his 86th birthday. A Founding Professor of the University of Divinity, Falla is widely known in Australia for his...

Reporting by Marta Sömek for Gazete Sabro — Beyoğlu, one of Istanbul’s symbolic places with a multicultural fabric and historical depth, hosted colorful and meaningful encounters during the European Heritage Days. The days were held from 12-20 September under the theme “Heritage at Risk: Revive, Persist, Imagine,” and brought the history of Beyoğlu to the attention of visitors through more than 60 free events.

BEIRUT — The Syriac Maronite Union–Tur Levnon launched an effort to persuade Duolingo, one of the world’s most widely used language-learning platforms, to add Syriac to its growing catalogue of languages, bringing a centuries-old language of the Middle East into an app used daily by millions of learners around the world. The initiative builds on Tur Levnon’s broader campaign to revive Syriac in Lebanon through education, cultural awareness and religious life.

BEIRUT — Lebanese architect, historian and author Dr. Amine Jules Iskandar, president of the Maronite Union-Tur Levnon (Mount Lebanon), is calling for a renewed commitment to the Syriac language, arguing that its preservation is inseparable from safeguarding Lebanon's historical identity, Christian heritage and cultural continuity. Speaking in an interview with Dixit, a program featuring conversations with contemporary intellectuals, writers, and artists, Iskandar presents the Syriac language not as a relic of the past but as a living foundation of Lebanon's civilization, one that continues to shape the country's language, liturgy, and collective memory despite decades of political and social marginalization.

DARAMSUQ — The leadership of the Syriac Cultural Association met with Minister of Culture Muhammad Yassin Salih to discuss cultural affairs, the preservation of Suroyo (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) heritage and language and the Association’s efforts to strengthen Suroyo identity within Syria’s emerging cultural framework. The meeting brought together representatives of the Association and the Culture Ministry amid an increasingly consequential debate over how Syria’s cultural institutions will recognize and protect the country’s linguistic diversity.

By Matay Türker When discussing the future of Syriac, simply saying "let's protect our language" is no longer enough. The real issue we need to address is how, where, and within what educational system Syriac will be passed on to future generations. Today, in Tur Abdin, a significant portion of Syriac education is carried out through the efforts of our churches, monasteries, foundations, associations, and teachers who have shown great dedication.

HASAKAH, Syria — As part of its ongoing efforts and its program of visits to political parties and community, youth, and educational institutions across the Gozarto (Jazira) region, a delegation from the Syriac Progressive Youth visited the Directorate of Education of the Hasakah Governate to discuss the state of education in the region. The delegation was received by Education Director Dr.

By The SyriacPress Editorial Team ANKARA — A call by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) to constitutionally and legally guarantee education in children’s mother tongues in Turkey has reopened a broader question: If education in one’s mother tongue is a fundamental right, why should Suroye (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) children be denied the same right? In a statement marking the start of the new academic year, the DEM Party’s Commission for Language, Culture, and Arts said millions of children, particularly Kurdish children, continue to enter the education system without the opportunity to study in their native language.

Based on reporting and interviews by Matay Türker Deprived of access to formal schooling, Suroye (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) communities are waging a deep-rooted struggle to preserve their heritage through Church-run madrašyotho (Suroyo for schools) in Tur Abdin and the dedication of families. Speaking to Gazete Sabro reporter Matay Türker as the new school year begins, Ayhan Gürkan and Toni Ergin, two malfonos (teachers) based in Medyad (Midyat), called on parents to “make sure to speak Suroyo (Syriac) with your children at home” to help preserve the mother tongue.

BETH ZALIN (QAMISHLI), Syria — As efforts continue to integrate the remaining institutions of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Region of North and East Syria (DAARNES) into the Syrian state administration, Syriac political leaders are calling for constitutional guarantees to protect minority rights, language education, cultural heritage, and political representation in the country's evolving governance structure. In an interview with…

BOTKYRKA, Sweden — Sweden has opened its first elderly-care unit with a Syriac-language profile, giving members of the country’s long-established Suroyo (Syriac–Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) community the opportunity to receive care from staff able to communicate in their mother tongue. The unit at Tornet Care and Nursing Home in Norsborg, in Botkyrka Municipality south of Stockholm, was inaugurated on Thursday, 27 August. The opening followed years of political advocacy and comes as the generation of Syriac immigrants who arrived in Sweden in large numbers during the 1960s and 1970s reaches old age.

TUR ABDIN — For a community whose history has been marked by displacement, the loss of institutions and the erosion of its language, a small newspaper can become more than a source of news. For the Syriac community in Turkey, Gazete Sabro, whose name means “hope” in the Syriac language, has spent more than a decade trying to do precisely that, document a community’s presence while preserving fragments of a past that successive generations have struggled to inherit.

DARAMSUQ (DAMASCUS) — Syria’s Ministry of Education has adopted a unified national curriculum based on what it calls the “Damascus curriculum,” bringing schools across the country under a single educational framework after years of competing curricula. The decision is expected to pave the way for the development and introduction of new national curricula, while also raising questions over the place of Syria’s linguistic and cultural communities in the education system.

NORSBORG, Sweden — The Syriac Edessa School in Sweden is preparing to welcome students for the new academic year from a brand-new building that will serve as the permanent home of both the school and its affiliated kindergarten in Norsborg. The building is scheduled to be officially inaugurated next month on 12 September, marking a significant milestone in the school’s history.

IRAQ — The Syriac language in Iraq continues to face challenges related to education and preserving its presence in society, despite the spread of dozens of schools teaching the language across several regions, alongside efforts by churches and cultural institutions to support Syriac education and pass it on to future generations. Atlal Salem, Head of the Syriac Language Department at the College of Humanities at the University of Mosul, said there are more than 100 schools providing instruction in Syriac across Nineveh, Kerkeslokh (Kirkuk), and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

BETH ZALIN, Syria — A three-day online training workshop titled Capacity Building on Mechanisms to Promote Syriac Cultural and Linguistic Rights in Syria concluded in Beth Zalin (Qamishli), Gozarto (Jazira) Region. The workshop was organized by the Media and Education Office of the Syriac Union Party (Gabo d’Ḥuyodo Suryoyo, SUP) and brought together representatives from the Syriac Cultural Association, the Syriac Women’s Union (Huyodo d’Neshe Suryoye b’Suriya, HNSS), the SUP, and participants from several Syrian provinces.

MOSUL, Iraq — Scholars, clergy, and cultural figures gathered in Mosul on Monday for a workshop highlighting the historical and cultural significance of the Syriac language, underscoring renewed efforts to preserve one of Iraq's oldest living linguistic traditions. The event, titled The Syriac Language: A Living Heritage and a Renewed Identity, was organized by the Lamassu Foundation for Culture (ICFI), in cooperation with the French-Iraqi Cultural Institute.

DARAMSUQ — The Syriac Cultural Association continues to expand its efforts to preserve Syriac heritage and promote awareness of Syria's ancient cultural identity through educational, intellectual and artistic initiatives aimed at audiences from across the country's diverse communities. According to the Association, its mission extends beyond preserving a historical legacy, seeking instead to encourage Syrians to reconnect with what it describes as the country's deep-rooted cultural foundations during a period of profound political and social transition.

By Mihayel Rabo Following the media coverage of the latest discovery of Syriac inscriptions in Turkey, some public comments drew special attention. While some commentators claimed these inscriptions belonged to Central Asian Turks, others asserted they were entirely Kurdish writings. To some, these comments might seem trivial and unworthy of serious attention. At their core, however, they reveal a dominant impulse to distort facts, deny cultural heritage, and appropriate history.

TEL TAMR, Syria — The Christian Education Committee of the Assyrian Church of the East in Syria has launched a new course to teach the Eastern dialect of the Syriac language in the town of Tel Tamr, i...