Culture Resource launched the Cultural Policy program in 2009 with the aim of developing a cultural environment that bolsters freedom of expression and creativity, and stimulates the role of the cultural sector in social and political change in the Arab region. Towards these ends, the program contributes to developing the cultural ecosystem in both the governmental and independent cultural sectors so that they can play a more effective and dynamic role in society. It also aims to survey and monitor the development of cultural policies in Arab countries in order to generate a knowledge base that supports cultural planning and cooperation in the region, to build the capacities of cultural actors and researchers involved in cultural policies, and to propose mechanisms that will serve to develop the overall cultural ecosystem in Arab countries.
As a first step toward the development of cultural policies in the Arab region, the Cultural Policy program fostered the creation of 12 local working groups dedicated to developing cultural policies in their own countries with support from Culture Resource. These National Cultural Policy Groups (NCPGs) were operating in the following countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
In addition to the NCPGs, the Cultural Policy program sponsored exploratory surveys and specialized studies in various branches of the field of cultural policies, such as national laws and legislations pertaining to culture and the arts, as a preliminary step toward building an Arab regional cultural policy knowledge base. The research was carried out by specialized scholars and organizations concerned with this field. The first surveys on policies, legislation and practices affecting cultural work in the region were conducted in eight countries: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. These were published under the title, “An Introduction to Cultural Policies in the Arab World,” in the framework of the First Conference on Cultural Policies in the Arab Region organized by Culture Resource in Beirut on 7-8 June, 2010.
The program also partnered with Ettijahat- Indpendent Culture which, with support from Culture Resource, became responsible for administering the Cultural Policy in the Arab Region website, updating the exploratory surveys, and preparing regular annual reports on developments in cultural policy in the Arab region.
In addition, the Cultural Policy program promoted networking and the exchange of expertise between cultural actors in the region by convening annual meetings beneath the heading “The Arab Cultural Policies Group.”
In 2016, the program launched its first call for applications for grants to support projects that aim to develop or change cultural policies at the local or regional level in the Arab region. The grant, which targets cultural actors and researchers concerned with cultural policies in the region, is offered every two years.
The Cultural Policy publications are available here.
Culture Resource founded the Cultural Policy program in 2009 as a means to contribute to the development of the knowhow related to the production of cultural policies in the Arab region. The program aims to enable cultural actors and independent organizations in the cultural sector to participate in the process of proposing local cultural policies for their countries and to network for the purposes of the research needed to develop policies conducive to improving the working environment in this sector.
Culture resource, through this program, has pursued diverse means and activities towards these ends. It has conducted studies on the state of cultural policies in the Arab region, fostered and supported National Cultural Policy Groups, and organized regional and international conferences and seminars for experts in this field. The Cultural Policy program has also worked on updating its publications on cultural policies through partnerships and it has sponsored further research and applied projects in this field.
Currently, the program is working to respond to the new and pressing needs in the Arab region through questioning the concept of cultural policies in light of the changing circumstances in the region. It is also inviting experts and researchers in this field to take part in this process and join discussions and exchanges on this subject.
It is in this context that the Cultural Policy program is organizing a workshop for cultural policy researchers and cultural actors in the Arab region. The Cultural Policy workshop is dedicated to the exchange of knowledge and expertise on cultural policies in the region and to the role that researchers and cultural actors play in formulating and/or proposing reforms to cultural policies at the local, national, regional and international levels by carrying out and producing the necessary research, analyses, studies and reports on the state of culture in the Arab region.
The Cultural Policy workshop will cover the following topical areas:
1- The existing definitions of cultural policies, the different types of cultural policies and their components, the stakeholders involved in policy design and development, and ways to develop local definitions of cultural policy for the Arab region.
2- The levels of action within cultural policies from the regional and the national to the local municipal level, and an examination of some previous experiences in these frameworks.
3- A critical reading of the UNESCO Convention of 2005 on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
4- A discussion of the content of the Report on Cultural Policies in the Arab Region which is produced every four years.
Workshop outlook
- Exchange of expertise and peer learning among a group of researchers, experts and cultural actors from the Arab region on the concept of cultural policy and analyses of different types of cultural policies. Participants will also have acquired familiarity with different cultural policy models and a deeper understanding of the mechanisms for producing cultural policies at the national and local levels and how different contexts and environments impact on the formulation of these policies.
- An in-depth understanding of the UNESCO Convention of 2005 and related issues, especially the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), its evaluative framework and the report it produces every four years.
- A wider circle of researchers who can contribute to studies, reports and research on cultural policies.
Program schedule
- Deadline for application is 4 September, 2019 at 5:00 PM Beirut time.
- Results will be announced on 10 October, 2019.
- The workshop will be held in November 2019.
Who can apply?
- Applicants must originate from an Arab country regardless of ethnicity and citizenship status or whether they are currently residing in the Arab region or abroad.
- Applicants must also be researchers and cultural actors involved in the field of cultural policy.
Eligibility criteria
- Previous experience in academic research or practice in cultural policies and cultural management in the Arab region.
- Applicants must have produced studies, executed projects or participated in previous workshops related to cultural policies.
- Arabic writing skills and research skills.
How to apply?
- Apply online by clicking on the “Application Form” button below.
- The application must be completed entirely in Arabic, apart from the blanks that require English.
Supporting material guideline
The applicant must upload the documents listed below onto the online application. Applications that do not contain the required attachments will be excluded and not forwarded to the jury.
- Photocopy of passport
- Cover letter in Arabic explaining your motivations to participate in the workshop
- Detailed CV in Arabic
- Examples of any previously produced articles, research or reports in Arabic or any other language regardless of whether or not they were published
How are the participants selected?
- The applications are first screened to ensure that applicants meet the above-mentioned eligibility criteria and that the applications have been completed in full and that all required supporting documents are included.
- Applications that meet all the conditions are forwarded to an independent three-member jury. The jury is composed of cultural actors with expertise in cultural policies and in the Arab and international cultural scenes. Culture Resource observes the principles of geographic diversity and gender equality in all the juries it forms.
- The jury members evaluate the applications and select the workshop participants on the basis of a pre-established set of criteria developed by Culture Resource.
Conditions of participation
- Culture Resource covers all expenses for travel, visa and accommodation to attend the workshop which will be held in an Arab country that will be announced later.
- The participant is responsible for obtaining the visa to the country in which the workshop will be held. However, Culture Resource can write a recommendation letter to support the participant’s visa application should he/she ask for one.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Cultural Policy program team at [email protected]