The first workshop of the seventh round of the Abbara program, which aims to support and enable independent cultural and artistic organizations and initiatives in the Arab region, took place on 30 October to 4 November 2022 in Beirut, Lebanon. The workshop focused on strategic planning, organizational management and the most salient concepts of cultural systems.
This workshop marked the first face-to-face meeting for the 9 participant organizations in this round, which are from Tunisia, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco, Egypt, Yemen and Sudan. Two representatives from each took part in the training sessions which were facilitated by Rana Yazji (Syria), a researcher, trainer and cultural programmer; Mudar Alhaggi (Syria), a dramaturg and cultural director; and Milica Ilic (Serbia), a cultural worker specializing in transnational cooperation in contemporary performing arts.
The workshop aimed to equip participants with an analytical and critical approach, drawing on their experience and acquired knowledge and skills, and allowing them to re-examine their plans, organizational structures, and work mechanisms. It also included field visits to the exhibition “Allo, Beirut?” and Waraq Organization, in addition to a friendly introductory meeting, organized by the Culture Resource team, between the workshop participants and artists and cultural workers in Beirut in order to promote networking and cultural exchange.
At the end of the workshop, the Abbara team determined the next steps with the participating organizations during their contracting period, which includes signing agreements, designing the technical assistance tailored to the needs of each organization, and hosting a series of online meetings around contemporary topics relevant to the cultural work, before reaching the second training workshop on financial planning, financial management and communications, that will take place in 2023.
