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The Cultural Bus arrives to great excitement in the Al-Azraq camp in northern Syria. Credit: Sonia Al Ali/IPSAL-AZRAQ, SYRIA, March 13 (IPS) - In the Al-Azraq camp in northern Syria, 10-year-old Abeer Al-Qaddour sits, browsing a colourful book with intense focus and curiosity. Nearby stands a bus, elegantly inscribed with the words ‘The Cultural Bus’.
Around the vehicle, dozens of children have gathered with visible joy, engaging in collective drawing activities for the very first time. Not far from the children, elderly residents sit quietly, exploring books on agriculture, politics, and literature – many of whom are holding such resources in their hands for the first time in years.
With a radiant smile, Abeer shares her experience.
“I love reading stories and scientific books. We do not have a public library in this area, and I do not have the money to buy books. That is why I was so happy when the mobile library visited this forgotten camp, where I have been living with my family for over five years.”
The young girl adds, “We used to feel that the tent was a symbol of our isolation. However, after the Cultural Bus visited our camp, we felt as though we were finally a part of the homeland again and that culture is reaching us, just as it reaches any city or neighbourhood.”
Across the streets of Syrian cities and their surrounding villages, the brightly coloured bus draws attention wherever it passes. It is neither a school bus nor an ordinary means of transportation – it is the now beloved Cultural Bus. This initiative, launched by the Syrian Ministry of Culture, carries a diverse collection of books, novels, and short stories catering to both children and adults. It travels through rural regions and displacement camps that suffer from a severe shortage of library services due to limited resources and their distance from the city centres where such facilities are typically located.
Displaced children choose their favourite stories inside the cultural bus in the Al-Azraq camp in northern Syria. Credit: Sonia Al Ali/IPSPromoting a Culture of Reading in Forgotten Areas
The Cultural Bus embarked on its maiden voyage early this year, acting as a mobile library. At every stop it makes, it transforms the location into a small festival, spreading joy in the hearts of the children. Beyond the immediate excitement, the initiative seeks to make reading a sustainable habit rather than a fleeting encounter, aiming to breathe life back into the cultural landscape of these communities.
Mohammad Murad, the Project Manager of the Cultural Bus, reflects on the initiative’s core mission.
“Throughout 14 years of war in Syria, schools were destroyed, and an entire generation of children was stripped of their right to education. This is why the Cultural Bus is so committed to reconnecting Syrian children with books, fostering a passion for reading, and introducing them to Syria’s rich cultural heritage. It is a vital opportunity for them to explore their country’s historical sites and traditional crafts – such as glassblowing and soap making – all under our guiding mission: ‘Culture… Awareness… Reconstruction.'”
Murad emphasises that the Ministry of Culture launched this mobile initiative in response to a society that is deeply yearning for high-quality cultural engagement. As the first project of its kind in Syria, it features two fully equipped buses: one tailored for children and the other for adults. To date, its journey has spanned 39 regions, covering rural Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Lattakia, Tartus, and Baniyas, and reaching as far as Quneitra, Aleppo, and Idlib, offering a comprehensive suite of cultural activities.
Each bus houses a mobile library with thousands of books, novels, and stories curated for all ages. Onboard is a dedicated team of volunteer writers and poets who breathe life into the local cultural scene through diverse activities that blend entertainment with education.
Murad explains, “We host interactive sessions for children, including collaborative reading, writing and drawing workshops, traditional ‘Hakawati’ storytelling, and various cultural competitions. These are organised in coordination with local NGOs, schools, and volunteer teams to ensure our schedule reaches the maximum number of villages and towns possible.”
He further notes that this initiative is not a fleeting event but a pillar of a sustainable cultural policy. It seeks to establish culture as a universal right and restore the status of knowledge as the foundation for rebuilding both the individual and Syrian society.
Achieving Cultural Justice
The Cultural Bus strives to reach every corner of Syria, promoting culture as a public right, not a privilege.
Salwa Al-Asaad (33), a project supervisor, shares the driving force behind their work.
“Our goal is to deliver culture to every Syrian, wherever they are across all provinces. We go to the children instead of waiting for them to find distant libraries or cultural centres. We have received invitations from remote villages that haven’t witnessed a single cultural activity in years.”
Salwa highlights that the project’s strength lies in its community-centric approach. Destinations are chosen based on the specific needs of the local population. In war-torn areas, the team organises art therapy activities to help children express their emotions. In cities with limited cultural outlets, the bus hosts poetry evenings and musical performances to revitalise the local atmosphere.
Despite the logistical hurdles of navigating difficult terrain and the ongoing challenges of funding, Salwa Al-Asaad remains undeterred. The overwhelming public response provides her and her colleagues with the fuel to keep moving forward. Expansion plans are already in motion, aiming to launch additional buses to cover even more territories.
“These initiatives do more than just promote literacy; they sow seeds of hope and ignite creativity among children and adolescents,” Al-Asaad explains. “Our goal is also to breathe life back into damaged cultural centres through tailored programmes that respect the unique social and educational fabric of each community.”
The importance of the Cultural Bus becomes even more striking when viewed against the backdrop of Syria’s educational crisis. UNICEF estimates prior to the political transition indicate that over 7,000 schools sustained damage or destruction. Many others were repurposed as shelters, leading to severe overcrowding in the remaining facilities.
The statistics paint a sobering picture: more than 2.4 million children are currently out of school, and another million are at high risk of dropping out. In this context, cultural and educational initiatives like the mobile library are not just supplementary – they are a critical lifeline for a generation at risk of being lost.
The Cultural Bus continues its journey, redrawing the cultural map of Syria.
It is a map in constant motion, carrying a ray of hope every time its doors swing open. This bus does not merely transport passengers from one point to another; it transports knowledge itself – from silent libraries to bustling town squares and from city centres to the most secluded villages.
In doing so, it painstakingly mends the broken bond between the Syrian people and the world of books.
IPS UN Bureau Report
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