Jordan Times
Monday, December 5, 2005
World Cultural Forum opens
AMMAN (JT) — Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on
Sunday said dialogue and well-established values of cultural and human diversity
were urgently needed in today's world.
Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah at the opening of the World Cultural
Forum (WCF) at the Dead Sea, the premier thanked the organisers for selecting
Jordan as the venue for their meeting and conveyed the King's best wishes to the
gathering to achieve its envisaged goals. He announced that Jordan would also
participate in the next edition of the forum, slated for next year in India.
The event, entitled “Investing in Culture and Social Justice for Development,”
is organised by the Amman-based Middle East Centre for Culture and Development
in coordination with the ministries of planning and international cooperation,
culture and tourism and antiquities.
The WCF, which first convened in Brazil in 2002, is “designed to be a
consultative process to stimulate creativity and to mainstream culture in
socio-economic development. It also aims to develop a programme of action for
the development of cultural enterprises and to serve as a global platform where
representatives from civil society, government and private sector can interact
to address critical issues in the field of culture and development,” according
to a statement published on the UNSECO website.
The organisers added that the Jordan edition of the WCF seeks “to portray
positive images of the rich and diverse aspects of the Arab heritage, to discuss
the socio-economic impact of culture through cultural enterprise development,
employment creation and conflict resolution.”
The four-day meeting advocates “an open culture of dialogue and freedom of
expression that foster peace and stability in the region and the world,” the
organisers said.
Speakers at the opening session included HRH Princess Wijdan Ali, president of
the Royal Society of Fine Arts, who said the world is now divided between peace
and terrorism. She emphasised that global issues should be addressed with
open-mindedness and true dialogue.
The Islamic Education, Science and Culture Organisation (ISESCO) is taking part
in the event “out of its belief in the necessity of continued cultural
dialogue,” according to a speech read on behalf of the organisation's president,
Abdul Aziz Tweijri.
About 500 personalities involved in the issues of cultural diversity, democracy,
intellectual property and development are participating in the event.