The Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) took part, on March 13-14, 2023, in the Qurain Cultural Festival, hosted by the State of Kuwait.
The Festival features various cultural and artistic events, with the participation of eminent Arab intellectuals and men of culture.
The opening session featured statements by the Secretary-General of the Kuwaiti National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, and by the Egyptian Minister of Culture.
Various ideas in relation to the theme of the Symposium were discussed during this Symposium. H.E Dr. Ould Amar, Director-General of ALECSO, responded to a number of questions that were raised in this regard.
Dr. Ould Amar pointed out that ALECSO, being a house of expertise in its fields of competence, is keen to assess what has so far been achieved, while taking into consideration the current challenges, foremost among which is the technological challenge. This, he added, has prompted the Organization to work on updating and publicizing the Comprehensive Plan for Arab Culture, so that it can serve as a reference for all Arab countries. He indicated that a first session to publicize the Plan was held in Morocco, and another session is scheduled in Tunisia, and later in other Arab countries. He noted that the importance of the Plan lies in the fact that it takes into consideration what has already been achieved as well as the practical goals we look forward to achieving in the future.
Dr. Ould Amar highlighted the great discrepancy between the countries of the world in general and the Arab countries in particular, and also within the same country, in various fields, including in the cultural field. Addressing this discrepancy is, according to the Director-General, a key challenge.
Dr. Ould Amar stressed that ALECSO has been working on this matter, and stands ready to face these challenges thanks to its cumulative expertise and experience gained over more than five decades since its inception. He highlighted, in this regard, the significant role played by ALECSO’s subsidiary institutions, whose achievements include the graduation of 12 thousand “Ambassadors of Arabic” from the Khartoum International Institute for Arabic Language, in addition to several publications, including specialized terminology dictionaries, issued by Arabization Coordination Bureau based in Rabat.
The Director General highlighted the efforts made by ALECSO to coordinate the joint Arab files for the inscription of intangible heritage elements, including the “Palm Tree”, and “Arabic Calligraphy”, as part of a five-year plan established in this regard.
Dr. Ould Amar underlined that the success of the Arab educational system is closely linked to success in meeting the cultural challenge. He thus called for giving key priority to education as well as for reviewing educational systems and curricula.
