Arab Cultural Policies — for whom? By Basma El Husseiny

Part 5 of the article: “The State of the Arts: Current issues in artistic and literary creativity in the Arab region”

Published in Jadaliyya on 15 February 2018

Basma El Husseiny – December 2017

The term ‘cultural policies’ could be defined in several ways, but for the purpose of this article, I will use the most common one: namely those measures, actions, and laws made by governments and public, private, or civil organisations to organise, support, and promote artistic and cultural production and the cultural resources and heritage of certain countries. This definition also includes those measures, actions, and laws designed to restrict, prohibit, threaten or endanger cultural creativity, production, resources and heritage. In this sense of the term, we can agree that all Arab countries have cultural policies; yet the term has not been used widely, and is rarely used in official documents, before 2010.

Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource) has been a pioneering organisation in this regard in the Arab region. In 2009, it launched a programme in association with the European Cultural Foundation to monitor cultural policies in eight Arab countries. The programme was initially based on the compendium model designed and used by the European Institute for Comparative Cultural Research (ERICarts), which provides an outline for monitoring cultural policies in Europe; later expanding to other countries.  Al Mawred Al Thaqafy has endeavoured to adapt the model for application in Arab countries and train researchers to do so. The initial result was a book entitled Cultural Policies in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, and Tunisia, published in 2010 by Boekman Foundation in the Netherlands, in association with Al Mawred Al Thaqafy and the European Cultural Foundation. The Arabic version was published by Egyptian publisher Sharqiyyat and edited by Hanane Hajj Ali. The book was the result of one year's monitoring and was the first book about cultural policies in the region ever to be published.

After both versions were published, Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource) continued its work towards developing Arab cultural policies, and it organized the first conference on cultural policies in the Arab region in Beirut in June 2010.  The conference resulted in the formation of working groups to develop cultural policies in several Arab countries. In December 2012, the organization held another conference in Cairo: ‘Independent Culture for Democracy”.   The conference hosted more than 120 artists, academics, and cultural activists from Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Kuwait. The conference concluded with several recommendations, most notably that the cultural sector should participate and even lead processes of social and political change and that new cultural policies that seek to democratize and decentralize culture.

These efforts, combined with the work of other international and civil organisations that support cultural policy development, led to the prioritisation of cultural policy as a theme in discussions concerning the reform of the cultural establishment in Arab countries. Between 2010 and 2015, there were major developments in the cultural policies of several Arab countries.

In Algeria, ‘a group of young cultural actors proposed, for the first time in the country's history, a document on Algerian cultural policies developed by the civil society. It was announced in 2013 after two years of open discussions despite the restrictions imposed on them by the authorities. This confrontation between the state and civil society resulted in the official establishment capitulating to many of the ideas presented by civil society, even in indirect ways, such as the late ratification of the UNESCO convention of 2005.’[1]

In Yemen, ‘the final document of the National Dialogue Conference, held between 2013 and 2014, included many cultural policies and legally binding articles on cultural rights, the culture of human rights, and the rights of writers and cultural actors. The document also contained several articles dedicated to the development of film, media, cultural journalism, and children’s and women’s culture.’[2]

 ‘The Yemeni constitution, which was developed over a whole year, included articles that state that culture is a human right. However, the constitution could no longer be implemented because of the coup d'état that rejected the federal system, the ensuing flight of President Hadi to Saudi Arabia, the start of the attack on Yemen and the ongoing war.  ’[3]

In Morocco, poet Mourad al-Qadiri says that ‘the most important development in the current decade is the 2011 constitution. It includes articles on the importance of cultural and artistic development and guarantees the right of every citizen to express themselves culturally. It also embraces cultural diversity and recognises Amazigh as an official language alongside Arabic. Other articles stress the right of citizens to consume and benefit from culture and the government’s commitment to achieve harmonious linguistic and cultural policies by establishing a national council for Moroccan languages and culture. On 3 August 2016, the government passed regulation 04.15, which stated that the council is mandated with preserving and developing both official languages of Morocco and developing the country’s cultural policies.’[4]

In Tunisia, the most important cultural policy developments were the state's abolition of prior censorship of theatre and its introduction of the complimentary treasury law of 2014, which allowed up to 70% of private sector company taxes to be used to support cultural projects and institutions; the latter was a key reform brought in by Mr Murad al-Saqli as Minister of Culture.[5] This law is unprecedented in the Arab region. Furthermore, Article 42 of the 2014 Tunisian constitution is one of the most comprehensive in the region with regard to cultural rights. The article states: ‘The right to culture is guaranteed. Freedom of creativity is guaranteed. The government encourages cultural creativity and supports national culture in its authenticity, diversity, and novelty in such a manner as to promote tolerance, non-violence, openness to all cultures, and inter-cultural dialogue. The government preserves cultural heritage and guarantees new generations’ right to their heritage.’

Examining the different cultural policy proposals, constitutional amendments, and laws pertaining to culture, one finds that special attention has been paid to the social dimension of culture and its role in countering extremism and violence of all forms. The texts also indicate that culture should reflect social justice issues and express linguistic, religious, and ethnic diversity. For example, the Egyptian cultural policy group[6] published a paper entitled ‘General Framework for Cultural Policies in Egypt” that included strategies such as ‘decentralising culture…and integrating cultural policies with education policies.’ The paper was submitted to the Commission of Culture and Media in the Egyptian parliament by more than 40 NGOs and cultural organisations. It was discussed and approved on 16 June 2012. However, on the same day, a court order dissolved the parliament and thus ended the potential life of this paper.

The story of cultural policy development in Iraq is the most tragic instance of Arab countries attempting to propose national cultural policies. While he was working as an advisor to the minister of culture, Iraqi intellectual and writer Kamel Shayyaa wrote a draft for cultural policies in Iraq, later dubbed 'the roadmap for Iraqi culture’, and then organised a conference for around 1,000 artists, writers, and intellectuals to discuss it in 2005, with sponsorship from UNESCO. The conference was a success, and Mr Shayyaa worked hard afterwards to implement its recommendations.,. However, he faced innumerable political and bureaucratic obstacles.  Kamel Shayyaa was ultimately assassinated in 2008, the perpetrator is still unknown, and his outstanding cultural policy development project was buried with him. Today, Iraq suffers from an unfortunate lack of legislation on culture. The Iraqi constitution includes only one article that mentions culture and arts: ‘The government fosters cultural activities and organisations in line with Iraq’s cultural history and civilisation and ensures the adoption of authentic Iraqi cultural trends.’[7]

In their efforts to develop cultural policies in the Arab region, cultural actors and activists have raised awareness around the importance of cultural policies. This awareness has in and of itself led to the implementation of useful and practical measures. For example, it has helped to increase funding for the cultural sector and to introduce important legal language in the constitutions and laws of some countries that protects freedom of artistic expression. However, these efforts have seldom led to radical structural reform in the official cultural establishment.[8] Needless to say, cultural policies cannot be developed meaningfully without fundamentally reconsidering the structures of the official institutions that are responsible for fostering culture.

A substantial gap still exists between these honest attempts to develop cultural policies   that would better respond to the needs of Arab societies and the approach of official cultural institutions whose role is often limited to the dissemination of propaganda for officials and political events. On the other hand, for cultural policies to be embraced by large segments of society, a lot of work is needed to develop their contents as well as the mechanisms of discussion and agreement on them.  Most cultural policy proposals in the region fall short of addressing urgent social issues, such as unemployment, the economic and social marginalisation of rural areas, poverty and the centralisation of culture around the middle and upper-middle class urban elites. These proposals do not include serious suggestions to address the issues that have a direct impact on the production and consumption of arts and literature, such as illiteracy and the inadequacy of education systems.

On the ground, there are informal cultural policies that govern cultural work in most Arab countries.  The policies are formed by the practices of official cultural institutions and the accumulation of regulations and rules they follow, which are often contradictory and chaotic. The effectiveness of these informal policies depends largely on the efficiency and devotion of those who implement them. As such, in a few instances, we find positive advancement in the performance of a cultural institution in a certain country because of an official’s personal interest and genuine desire to develop cultural work.[9] However, such efforts often fail to translate to a meaningful change in cultural policies. This is due to a number of complex reasons, including the political reality of any given situation, in which cultural work is manipulated into propaganda to support the regime’s political agenda, and the general animosity of official bureaucratic apparatuses to any fundamental change.

The second factor playing a role in the formation of cultural policies is the influence of international donor organisations supporting culture in the Arab region. The most influential of these, in terms of the size of funding and the clarity of its policies, is the European Union, followed by major US and European private foundations including the Ford Foundation, which has a programme dedicated to supporting culture and arts with clearly defined priorities, and Drosos, Stichting Doen, the Open Society Foundations, the Anna Lindh Foundation, and the European Cultural Foundation. Although these foundations differ in their policies, their general direction is similar: to balance supporting non-governmental cultural projects and organisations, in as much as allowed by the restrictive local laws and regulations, on the one hand and supporting official state organisations on the other hand; usually through training their staff and funding projects to preserve cultural heritage. There are many other sources of financial support that should be mentioned, namely some European cultural centres and organizations including as the British Council, the Goethe Institut, and Pro Helvetia, all of which offer substantial support within the framework of cultural exchange and cultural diplomacy, and rarely within the framework of development aid. In these latter programs Europeans design and participate in the cultural projects that are being supported, so that the cultural sectors of their home countries may also benefit and diversify.

There is no doubt that international donors, whether governments or foundations, have played an important role in developing the cultural landscape of the last decade. This is particularly true of countries that lack effective official cultural institutions, where smaller cultural NGOs have emerged, such as Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, and Yemen. The same is true on a regional level as donors have continuously supported regional organisations that in their turn support projects in several Arab countries, such as the Arab Fund for Art and Culture (AFAC), Al Mawred Al Thaqafy (Culture Resource), and the Anna Lindh Foundation.  What is missing in the policies of these international donor organisations are more dialogue amongst themselves, and a deeper understanding of each other’s work modalities, in such a way as to explore possibilities for coordination and collaboration to maximise the impact of their financial resources.  Another challenge they face is the weakness of their influence on official state cultural systems and on the local laws and regulations that restrict freedom of expression and artistic production. Additionally, policies adopted by some international donors tend to be short-term, and sometimes cause sudden changes in the priorities and themes of cultural work with no obvious link to the reality of the region. For example, a donor organisation might prioritise contemporary arts or freedom of expression, but then suddenly change the theme without any clear reason drawn from realities on the ground. Another noteworthy criticism of the role of international donors is that independent artists and cultural organisations might be coerced into shaping their projects and plans to align with donors’ priorities, while in my opinion the opposite should be the case. This may be also due to the weakness of independent cultural organisations, the scarcity k of their financial resources, and perhaps even their lack of vision and clear planning.[10]

In any case, the overall impact of funding from international donors in the cultural sectors of Arab countries is great than that of governmental funding. For example, although accurate and documented information is not available, government funding for culture in Egypt in 2011 is estimated at 147 million USD,[11] while the funding of international donors could not have exceeded 5 million USD in the same year. However, the most prominent artistic and cultural projects in Egypt were those funded by international donors, such as the D-CAF festival, and activities organised by independent cultural organisations, including Town House Gallery, the Contemporary Image Collective, Artellwa, Mahattat, and many others. One of the reasons why government funding has such a weak effect is that the vast majority of funds are absorbed into the huge administrative structures; another is that states lack cultural policies with stated objectives or even general visions, and thus have nothing clear to achieve.

Cultural policies are the most important factor in reforming or developing cultural landscapes.  However, they pose urgent and difficult questions, the answers to which are yet unclear and vary significantly from one country to another:

- How do we bridge the gap between official cultural institutions and the efforts made by independent groups to develop cultural policies in contexts where mechanisms for democratic dialogue are weak or completely absent because of non-democratic regimes?

- Are there rules or principles for managing and supporting cultural work that can be proposed for discussion and agreement in societies undergoing violent conflicts? Are there minimum standards for cultural work that all parties can agree to, and if so, what are they?

- How can we take the role of international donors into consideration when developing national cultural policies and what are the mechanisms through which we can involve donors in the discussion about cultural policies?

- How can the process of developing cultural policies and the policies themselves respond to the issues of societies at large, particularly with regard to populations that suffer from poverty and marginalisation and that are unaware of the role culture can play in improving their lives?

Without committing to answering these questions, the efforts to develop cultural policies in the Arab region will continue to have two options: to be a form of activism by groups of independent intellectuals and artists, primarily aiming at criticising official cultural systems and proposing  alternatives that cannot be implemented, or to be an effort by senior government officials to draft a formal document  with no support from the cultural community nor from any other influential segment of society, and with no real intention to implement it. 

In both cases, the larger segments of Arab societies: children and young people, the poor, the illiterate, Bedouin and rural populations will remain without cultural policies that cater to their needs, in addition to the total neglect of the needs of the masses of forcibly displaced people in Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and Iraq.