In his address to the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (Mexico, September 28-30, 2022), delivered on his behalf by Dr. Mourad Mahmoudi, Secretary of the Executive Board and General Conference, Acting Director of the Culture Department, Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, highlighted the importance of the proposals put forward by the Arab Group, namely “incorporating culture as a key component within global peacekeeping operations, and leading a global dialogue on this crucial issue within the framework of the United Nations system, so that culture takes a central place as a soft power in peacemaking processes around the world.” He also stressed the need to “harness the power of culture to further raise awareness of the range of challenges that climate change poses to all humanity, and of the need to engage in a collective effort to save the Planet”.
The Director-General indicated that MONDIALCULT 2022 “offers an opportunity for more inclusive and flexible thinking to reaffirm the role and place of culture in promoting a better future for Mankind, in a context marked by a gradual shift towards more inclusive public policies that involve all relevant stakeholders. These include national governments, civil society organizations, local communities, private sector, and international and regional organizations.”
The Director-General stressed that ALECSO, “in its endeavor to meet development commitments in the Arab region, is working to support an integrated process for drawing up social integration and sustainable development policies, by developing inclusive, culture-based plans to promote social well-being and civil peace in our region and around the world.” ALECSO, he added, is “keen to engage Arab countries in thinking about ways of renewing cultural policies to meet global challenges and identify immediate and future priorities. This will help develop a more robust and effective cultural sector and expand the scope of cultural policies to encompass issues that most affect people’s lives. This approach is aligned with ALECSO’s plan that seeks to promote the free exchange of ideas and knowledge and to enhance cooperation between Arab States and other countries of the world, and calls for leveraging the power of culture and of cultural and artistic expressions to meet common challenges.”
The Director-General recalled the launch of “the Updated Comprehensive Plan for Arab Culture has been launched, following a revision of goals and priorities in order to better align them with current challenges,” and also the launch of the “Arab Decade for the Cultural Right”, which emphasizes the place of culture among the fundamental rights of Arab citizens, and the need to guarantee their right to cultural services that meet their needs and aspirations, and are best suited to their socio-cultural specificities.”
The Director-General noted that “the functions of culture have significantly evolved over the past decades, in light of societal changes and digital transformations, so that they now cover a wide range of areas pertaining to development, peace and security. Moreover, the unequivocal recognition of the strong correlation between culture and sustainable development provides further confirmation that the world has actually entered a new historical phase that fosters the role culture in achieving socio-economic development”. He commended “Saudi Arabia’s ‘Culture and Green Future’ project, which aims to launch a broad networking process among Arab States in response to the climate change challenge, by leveraging the power of culture”, and reaffirmed “the Arab States’ commitment to contribute to global efforts for the protection of the Planet, by incorporating the environmental challenge and the fight against climate change into national and regional priority cultural policies.”
The Director-General concluded by asserting that “ALECSO will continue to work toward promoting the diversity of cultural and artistic expressions, providing care and support to creators in the Arab countries, and protecting, safeguarding and valorizing tangible and intangible cultural heritage, especially in zones of conflict and tension.”
