Read the full newsletter: ACORNS 349
ACORNS is our bilingual bi-weekly digest of the latest arts and cultural policy news. Each fortnight, we publish the editorial online. For ACORNS direct to your inbox, just subscribe.
This week we released new and updated cultural policy profiles for countries in the Arab Region, on our WorldCP site. The profiles are the result of an ongoing partnership with Al-Mawred Al-Thaqafy, Ettijahat-Independent Culture and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), the aim of which is to stimulate policy dialogue and support cultural planning, development and collaboration in the Region. To celebrate the release of the profiles, in this issue of ACORNS we are exploring the Region further.
Among recent news, we noticed that there have been a number of important conversations, and investments in cultural infrastructure. In May, Sharjah-based publisher Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, published an insightful commentary on meaningful cultural dialogue and the role of literature in diplomacy; the article also includes information about the Sharjah Book Authority’s plan to establish a publishing free zone in the UAE State. In the same month, key Libyan and international partners united to adopt an action plan for protecting the country’s cultural heritage, archaeological sites, museums and urban heritage.
Meanwhile, a new Palestinian Museum has opened near Ramallah in the West Bank; the museum may have opened without artefacts, but it has already been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating. In Morocco, a new report has revealed that the country has seen a nine per cent rise in tourism, which has led to government development plans that include creating an Institute of Fine Arts, as well as a Museum of Collective Memory. For more news and insight into the region, we highly recommend the Cultural Policy in The Arab Region website.
If you are interested in hearing firsthand from regional experts, we are pleased to say we also have that covered. This October, we will be joined by top names from North Africa and the Middle East at the World Summit on Arts and Culture.
In other Summit news, we are pleased to be working with ECF on the Global Cultural Leadership Programme, which will take place from 16–21 October in Malta.