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.
Cultural Policies Resources: