Steel and Silk

Consists of profiles of 341 men and women. Syria has led the Arab World in many ways for the past 100 years. It was the headquarters of the Arab nationalist movement in the 1910s and leader of women's emancipation in the 1920s. It was among the first Arab countries to achieve independence from colonial rule in 1946, and among the region's earliest and healthiest democracies in the 1950s. From this point on, Syria produced an array of leading poets, writers, and painters. In the 1970s, Syria was the first Arab country to appoint women as judges, parliamentary deputies, ministers, and ambassadors. Meet the nationalists who led the independence struggle in Syria. Meet the politicians who manuvered its politics into becoming a central power-broker in the Middle East. Meet the poets, the painters and thinkers as well as the diplomats, journalists, and civil servants. Meet the women and men who shaped 20th century Syria. Includes a workshop for journalists and researchers that includes an annotated timeline of 20th Century Syria, facts on Syria, and brief bios of the current leadership.