Qurain Festival calls on Arab nations to support cultural NGOs

Subsidies, training centers among proposals put forward by the festival

KUWAIT: The General Secretariat of the Qurain Cultural Festival published Wednesday a number of recommendations aimed at promoting civic cultural initiatives across the Arab region.

The proposals were released following the conclusion of the festival’s two-day seminar. The seminar, which included 10 panel discussions, looked at how civic cultural projects in the Arab region could be integrated into the League’s Comprehensive Plan for Arab Culture.

Wednesday’s recommendations included a range of measures that, if approved, would support non-government organizations (NGOs) that take on cultural initiatives. For one, the secretariat supports establishing a fund designated for civic cultural projects under the oversight of Arab ministries of culture in collaboration with the private sector. They also advised governments to offer guarantees for loans financing such projects and subsidize or reduce rent for buildings housing NGOs. Training centers specialized in “effective cultural planning work” would be established in Kuwait to prepare people for jobs in the sector.

Other highlights included creating a consortium for NGOs across the region to be headquartered in Kuwait. The recommendations singled out for support projects aimed at the cultural enrichment of children. The secretariat also proposed the launch of a digital educational platform for young kids. It recommended Arab interior ministries to collaborate to loosen visa requirements for Arabs attending cultural events across the region. The recommendations highlighted the need to modernize the Comprehensive Plan for Arab Culture, which was first announced in 1979 at the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers. According to an article by Kuwaiti researcher and writer Sulaiman Al-Askari, the implementation of the plan was led by Kuwait between 1981-1985. The plan’s main objective is to unify Arab efforts in various cultural fields and nurture the Arab and Islamic cultural identity.

Arab researchers and intellectuals as well as representatives from the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the UNESCO contributed to the discussions leading to the proposals. The recommendations will be shared with the Arab ministers of culture for further deliberation.