Type: Consultancy
Deadline for Applications: 20 July, 2026
Date to assume responsibilities: 3 August, 2026
Culture Resource (Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy / Mawred) and Artists at Risk Connection (ARC) are seeking an experienced consultant or consulting team to develop a regional advocacy report on freedom of artistic expression in the Arab region, alongside an advocacy strategy and campaign framework based on the report’s recommendations.
The consultancy is grounded in a rights-based and context-sensitive approach and seeks to better understand how artists and cultural practitioners experience, navigate, and respond to the conditions shaping artistic expression in contexts marked by conflict, repression, displacement, and structural under-investment in culture.
Scope of the consultancy
The consultant(s) will produce a regional advocacy report and a related strategic framework that collectively explore the conditions, constraints, and enabling practices shaping artistic freedom in the Arab region.
The report will focus on:
- The structural and contextual conditions of artistic freedom, including legal and policy frameworks as well as the political, social, and economic environments that shape cultural expression across different country contexts.
- The lived experiences of artists and cultural practitioners, with attention to how they navigate risk and constraints in their working environment, and sustain creative practice under conditions of precarity, censorship, or instability.
- Patterns and divergences across the region, identifying shared structural challenges as well as context-specific realities that shape artistic production and circulation.
Forms of response, adaptation, and resilience, including practices developed by artists, cultural actors, collectives, and organizations to maintain space for expression and continuity of work. - Key advocacy priorities, grounded in evidence and in the perspectives of cultural practitioners, aimed at strengthening the protection and advancement of artistic freedom.
- Actionable recommendations, directed at policymakers, civil society actors, cultural institutions, donors, and international organizations engaged in cultural rights and artistic freedom.
In parallel, the consultancy will develop an advocacy strategy and campaign framework translating the findings into strategic directions for engagement at regional and international levels, including messaging priorities, target audiences, and potential entry points for collective action.
The work is expected to adopt an ethically grounded, context-sensitive, and intersectional approach, ensuring that the voices and safety of artists and cultural practitioners remain central to the research and analysis.
Deliverables
- Research methodology and workplan, including ethical and safeguarding considerations;
- Qualitative interviews with artists and cultural practitioners across selected contexts in the Arab region;
Draft and final advocacy report in English; - Advocacy strategy and campaign framework;
- Integration of feedback from Culture Resource and ARC.
Duration and Timeline
The consultancy is expected to take place beginning on or around 3 August 2026 to 27 November 2026.
Indicative timeline:
Inception Phase: 3 August – 14 August 2026
Interviews and Data Collection: 24 August – 25 September 2026
Analysis and Drafting: 24 August – 16 October 2026
Review, Revisions and Submission: 19 October – 4 November 2026
Consolidation of Final Designed Report and Project Closure: 23 November – 27 November 2026
Required Qualifications
Applicants should demonstrate a strong alignment with cultural rights, particularly freedom of artistic expression, as well as the ability to translate complex regional realities into grounded, accessible, and policy-relevant analysis.
The consultant(s) must have:
- Proven experience in human rights, cultural rights, freedom of expression, or related fields, with a strong focus on cultural rights advocacy and artistic freedom;
- Strong knowledge of political, social, and cultural contexts in the Arab region;
- Familiarity with international human rights frameworks related to artistic freedom and freedom of expression;
- Strong qualitative research skills, including experience conducting interviews in sensitive, high-risk, or conflict-affected contexts;
- Experience producing research, advocacy, or policy reports for regional or international audiences;
- Experience working with artists, cultural practitioners, or cultural organizations in diverse, fragile, or politically sensitive environments;
- Experience applying conflict-sensitive methodologies, particularly in research involving artists or cultural practitioners;
- Demonstrated ability to apply ethical research practices, including informed consent, confidentiality, do-no-harm principles, trauma-informed interviewing, and digital security considerations;
- Fluency in spoken Arabic and a good understanding of different Arabic dialects. The ability to understand French is a plus;
- Excellent writing and analytical skills in English;
- Ability to work independently while engaging constructively in iterative review and feedback processes.
Application requirements
Interested consultants or consulting teams should submit the following documents in English to jobs@mawred.org with the following title in the subject field of the email: “Advocacy Report Consultancy.”
- CV (CVs of all team members in the case of teams);
Motivation letter; - A technical proposal outlining the methodology, workplan, and budget;
- References of previous works;
- 2 professional references, including their name, position, phone number, and email address.
Application deadline: Monday 20 July 2026 at 16:00 Beirut Time