The artist, Dr. Enas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Culture, participated with Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth of the United Arab Emirates and Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director General of the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science, in the press conference held at the UAE pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, regarding the announcement of the agenda The 22nd session of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab World.
Dr. Enas Abdel Dayem, Minister of Culture and President of the twenty-first session of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab World, said that the conference aims to review the comprehensive plan for Arab culture, which is not only imposed by the importance of searching for new ways to enhance communication and joint cultural cooperation between countries. The Arab world and the need to review what has been achieved in the past period, but also necessitate the current conditions the world is going through in the face of the Corona pandemic, which put all cultural activities to the test, in the face of social distancing, which has become an inevitable imposition in many cases.
She stressed the importance of joint Arab cultural work, as culture is the optimal framework for unifying Arab countries, and added that this session comes to develop the perceptions and suggestions of the member states of the Permanent Committee for Arab Culture, within the framework of constructive cooperation, to complete and develop the draft plan, especially the cultural conditions in the Arab world. and ways to enhance joint Arab cultural cooperation, and I thanked the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai for hosting the conference, Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, for the excellent organization of this session, and The Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science "ALECSO", headed by Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, and to the Arab ministers and the working group of experts and researchers from the member states, wishing this session to achieve tangible results in the advancement of Arab culture, and to extend new bridges to the world.
Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, said: The conference of ministers responsible for cultural affairs is of special importance, as it is being held at Expo 2020 Dubai, the largest global cultural platform, which provides an opportunity to learn about the cultures of 192 countries, and confirms that this region has always been a platform for exchange. This conference is also held in conjunction with the celebration of the International Day of the Arabic Language, the day on which the Arabic language was adopted as an official language at the United Nations in 1973, where this date constituted a confirmation of the importance and status of the Arabic language which is currently spoken by more of 420 million people, and its pivotal role in enriching the movement of world heritage and culture, and enriching the march of human civilization through the large amount of scientific production during the golden period of Arab civilization, she added. Culture, creativity and the arts that gave people hope in facing the pandemic during the wide closures that the world witnessed, which calls us to strengthen cultural industries and creativity to be a major contributor to sustainable development.
The Minister of Culture explained that, since its first session, the conference has constituted a main platform for enhancing the horizons of Arab cultural cooperation and crystallizing new dimensions that enhance the presence and advancement of Arab culture. The aspect of unifying Arab efforts in the various cultural fields, including cooperation in order to register the intangible heritage in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization "UNESCO", and unifying Arab efforts to develop the system of cultural and creative industries. The conference will also discuss the program of an extraordinary ambassador for Arab culture, especially after ALECSO chose Sheikha Al Yazia bint Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan as the first ambassador for Arab culture and concluded her speech by saying, "The UAE is keen to strengthen the existing cooperation and partnership with the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science ( ALECSO) in all aspects related to the organization’s work fields, as it is an active partner in leading Arab cultural cooperation efforts, enhancing coordination at the level of Arab countries, and hosting the conference, translating the vision of its leadership to support Arab culture as the link between the peoples of the region, and confirming its pivotal role in this field.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar stressed the strategic partnership between the organization and the United Arab Emirates, and its role in achieving cultural integration among the Arab countries, pointing to highlighting the most important objectives of the joint Arab cultural project, which came to meet the urgent needs of actors and workers in the cultural field and the field of heritage protection and valorization. And to support the capacities of civil and official cultural institutions in Arab countries.
He pointed to the importance of the ongoing work to develop and restructure the work of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab Countries in line with the developments of the stage, especially in cultural governance, and to the role of culture in promoting the values of dialogue and peace and confronting cracks and barriers between nations.
It is noteworthy that the convening of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab World comes within the framework of cooperation relations between the Ministry of Culture and Youth in the UAE and the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO), and in implementation of the decision of the twenty-first session of the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab World. In its various sessions, the conference achieved an important balance of gains and achievements, including areas of joint Arab cultural work.
Sun, Dec. 19, 2021
