Jordan Times
Friday, September 24, 2004
New plan unveiled to promote
culture
By Sarah Ryan
AMMAN — The government's role in culture will take a new turn over the next few
years with the introduction of a plan to divide the ministry into three separate
and independent departments.
The first department will handle art issues in the country, which include visual
art, music, theatre and dance, while the second department will deal with
literary and scientific issues of culture, Minister of State and Government
Spokesperson Asma Khader said. The third department will manage infrastructure
and supervise the affairs of cultural centres, public libraries and cultural
festivals.
The plan has been completed and final approval from the Cabinet is expected
soon.
Lina Tal, director and founder of the Performing Arts Centre, tentatively
approves the arrangement. “The plan is wonderful but the challenge is to make it
work,” she said. The new departments need to be non-bureaucratic, have a
good-sized budget and be filled with qualified people in the right positions,
she explained.
Khalid Khreis, director general of the Royal Society of Fine Arts, said they
have received minimal support from the government to date.
“They support the arts but only in small circles,” he said. There is always
something more important for the government to spend money on than culture, said
Khreis. This has made him rely more on the private sector. “You have to look for
companies that will sponsor creativity,” he noted.
There have been a host of problems with the operation of the Ministry of Culture
in the past, especially in terms of a lack of coordination in the planning of
cultural festivals. This often resulted in cultural events overlapping or being
subject to constant changes.
Another problem, said Tal, is that most cultural events have been happening in
Amman with other governorates being left off the cultural map.
Since the position of minister of culture was dissolved a year ago there has
been constant dialogue over how to strengthen the cultural life in Jordan.
Kifah Fakhouri, director of the National Music Conservatory, said a council
representing different sectors of the arts is a good idea but stressed that
these departments need a minister. “There should be a head decision maker,” he
said. “Someone in the Cabinet to defend arts and culture.”
The new plans allow for a minister of culture for the next three to five years,
said Khader. A higher council will be formed and work under the supervision of
the minister.
“It is our vision that culture should be led by a partnership body,” she added.
The council will be made up of members from the private sector, cultural
organisations and intellectuals.
The higher council will most likely act as an independent body in the
organisation, planning and policy for the whole sector, said Khader. For the
meantime, the ministry will continue operating over the next two to three years
with all its departments functioning.
“If the intention is to support culture and arts in Jordan, it is important to
give the time for strategic planning in the long-term,” said Tal, adding that
two years should be sufficient.
The new plan was made after extensive consultations between the government and
professionals working in the cultural sector, Khader told The Jordan Times.
Meetings, a national cultural conference and memos from various organisations
provided the government with feedback from those working in culture.
“The platform was open for all involved in the arts community to comment,” said
Tal.
The discussion over cultural life in the country comes at a time when culture is
being debated more widely on the international stage. The relationship between
culture and the economy or culture and social issues has been central to events
such as the first World Culture Forum, which took place in Sao Paolo from June
26 - July 4 of this year. This forum brought together representatives from
government, the economy and NGOs to discuss the state of culture in specific
regions and internationally.