MOSUL, Iraq — The youth in Mosul are using music, art, poetry and volunteer projects to breathe life back into the multicultural city, after its liberation from the Islamic State (IS). 

The city’s first music festival took place Nov. 1-2, which featured musicians from all over the country, including Yazidi, Assyrian, Chaldean, Shabak and Syriac groups. One of the main attractions was the Basra Band for Folkloric Arts, an internationally acclaimed group that performs traditional regional and national folk dances.

Young artists, folk dancers, poets and volunteers are organizing festivals, workshops and initiatives that shape civic culture in Mosul. Many of these young people had wanted to leave the city — and the country — during the IS rule that lasted three years between June 2014 and July 2017.

Bandar al-Okeidi, a 22-year-old university student, remembers how his spirits lifted after the liberation of Mosul. Living through the harsh times under the control and oppression of IS and the brutal practices of its fighters against the residents, Okeidi had wanted to leave his hometown. But once Mosul was liberated, he decided to stay and help get the city back on its feet.