United Nations World Silk Road Forum (UNWSF) and the Silk Road International Poets Federation (SRIPF) announced that the 5th Silk Road International Poetry Festival will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from May 23 to 30, 2025. As part of the festival, an award ceremony will be held on May 27 to present the 5th Silk Road International Poetry Awards.
The awards include:
- Poet Laureate Award
- Golden Camel Award
- Silver Camel Award
- Best Poetry Collection Award
- Poetry Film Award
- Translation Award
- Asian Poet of the Year Award
- European Poet of the Year Award
- African Poet of the Year Award
- American Poet of the Year Award
- Oceania Poet of the Year Award,
- and others.
Personal posters of all participating poets—whether attending in person or virtually—have been prepared and shared.
The event is organized under the auspices of the United Nations World Silk Road Forum (UNWSF) and the Silk Road International Poets Federation (SRIPF) and will be held in Dubai, UAE, from May 23 to 30, 2025, brings together an extraordinary constellation of poets from across the globe. The participants are organized into eleven diverse groups, with representatives attending either in person or virtually, encompassing voices from Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
Group 1 features prominent names like Fernando Rendon (Colombia), founder of the Medellín International Poetry Festival, Vadim Terekhin (Russia), Adel Khozam (UAE), along with Chinese poets Wang Fangwen and Cao Shui.
Group 2 highlights major Emirati poets such as Hamda Khamis, Khalid Al Budoor, and Khulood Al Mualla. International participants include Han Geyou and Peng Dan (USA), Pei Ying (New Zealand), Yuan Fan (Canada), and several Chinese poets: Zhang Jianjun, Wei Guoqiang, Fan Qun, Chen Donglin, Zhang Yajun, Leng Xianqiao, and Dong Faliang.
Group 3 includes more poets from the UAE—Shaikha Abdulla Almteiri, Amal Al Sahlawi, Saad Jumaa, and Ali Al Shaali—alongside Chinese poets such as Lin Xiaochun, Zhang Baoping, Chen Hong, Xu Youchun, Tian Jiguang, Sun Meiqin, Peng Haixiang, and Shao Zhiqiang.
Group 4 features authors presenting acclaimed poetry collections, including Ali Ahmed Al Mazmi (UAE) with “Where My Dead Days Sit”, Fatima Badr (UAE) with “The One No One Names”, Ana Stjelja (Serbia/UAE) with “Whisper of the Universe”, as well as Chinese works like “Secret Explanation: Along The River During the Qingming Festival” by Zhang Qunli and Hong Ling, and “Monet’s Garden Rendezvous” by Xia Lu. Other notable books include “Break the Cocoon” by Pei Chunfang, “The Age of Innocence” by Yang Ying, “Starry Sky and Backbone” by Fu Ping, and more.
Group 5 assembles globally renowned poets: Rati Saxena (India) with “Why Is The River Silent”, Ulugbek Yesdaulet (Kazakhstan) with “Trace”, Franca Colozzo (Italy) with “The Slaughter Of The Innocents”, Nujoom Al Ghanem (UAE) with “Sharp Tools”, and others including Bing Ling (UK), Qiu Lin (Australia), Bei Xue, Zhang Xiong, Zhao Xibin, Li Yaguang, and Han Zhiping (China).
Group 6 features Yara El Masri (Egypt), Lamberto Garzia (Italy), Roberto Aedo (Chile), Yasef Ananda (Cuba), and Zhang Lizhong (Australia).
Group 7 brings together voices from South and Central Asia: Keshab Sigdel (Nepal), Abdukakhor Kosimov (Tajikistan), Biplab Majee (India), Kang-Byeong-Cheol (South Korea), and Altynai Temirova (Kyrgyzstan).
Group 8 includes eminent European and Asian poets: Guiseppe Conte (Italy), Dimitris P. Kraniotis (Greece), Nurduran Duman (Türkiye), Angel XJ (UK), and Lucilla Trapazzo (Switzerland).
Group 9 features renowned Arab poets such as Ashraf Aboul-Yazid and George Onsy (Egypt) Achour Fenni and Muhammad Rahal (Algeria), along with Siphiwe Nzima Ntsekhe from Lesotho.
Group 10 includes poets from the Americas: George Wallace (USA), Alex Pausides (Cuba), Yuri Patino (Venezuela), Edwin Goana (Ecuador), and Luis Benitez (Argentina).
Group 11 is dedicated to poets from Oceania, including Les Wicks, Ying Xia, Liao Shijing, Laura Fu (Australia), and Fang Zhu (New Zealand).
This diverse gathering affirms the universal power of poetry and cultural dialogue along the new Silk Road.
