DOHA: The Consultative Council for Cultural Development in the Islamic World, whose General Secretariat is held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), held its 18th meeting in Doha under the chairmanship of the State of Qatar.
The meeting discussed the agenda, as well as the draft decisions and documents that would be submitted to the 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in Islamic World, convened by ICESCO, and hosted by the State of Qatar on Monday, represented by the Ministry of Culture. The meeting will run for two days.
The meeting approved the establishment of the council's new office in its upcoming session throughout 2024-2025 after Qatar has taken over the presidency from Tunisia, which will assume the position of the rapporteur of the council, while Uzbekistan and Uganda became vice-presidents for the Asian and African regions, in addition to the membership of three countries for the group of Asian countries, three countries for the Arab group, and three countries for the African countries, in addition to the permanent members in their capacity.
In his remarks following Qatar’s assumption of the council's presidency, Assistant Undersecretary for Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture Dr Ghanem bin Mubarak Al Ali affirmed the affirmative reaction between the State of Qatar and ICESCO, stemming from the belief in ICESCO's role in operationalizing the joint cultural work in the Islamic world.
If the authentic culture - which is anchored in goodness values - is the camp that converges Islamic nations, it is likewise the method of developing the life of communities in the nations of the Islamic world as well, Al Ali said, pointing out that people do not leave a civilized impact in the humanitarian civilization unless cultural values and willingness of innovation and initiatives in a variety of fields are certainly instilled in generations' hearts.
Dr Al Ali called on the member states to work together for this meeting and the 12th conference of the ministers of culture in the Islamic world to be a real launch of joint cultural action, emphasizing that culture is a national powerful guarantee and a strategic option for peoples to achieve sustainable development.
Director of Culture and Communication Sector at ICESCO, Dr Muhammad Zain Al Abidin, delivered an inaugural speech in which he discussed ICESCO's efforts in supporting cultural action in light of its strategic vision and orientations through carrying out programs and innovative projects in its member states, including the ICESCO International Think Tank for Thought, Letters and Arts, under the theme "Culture for Rethinking the World", as well as ISESCO International Chairs of Thought, Literature and the Arts.
The council's inaugural session was followed by work sessions which featured the discussion of a myriad of executive reports and documents that are due to be presented during the 12th session of the conference of the ministers of culture in the Islamic world, including the report of ISESCO's accomplishments in cultural area, report of the Islamic World Heritage Committee, document of the guidelines of cultural policies, sustainable development indicators in an evolving world, in addition to a report on the success of the activities of the celebration of Doha as the capital of culture in the Islamic world presented by Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture, Maryam Yassin Al Hammadi.
Al Hammadi underscored the concerted efforts of the cultural institutions and other entities in Qatar to have a successful celebration that was held under the slogan "Our Culture is Light" which featured nearly 300 various events which were not actually limited to culture but were largely focused on thought and global orientations that nurture the culture at home and abroad.
In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Al Hammadi said the meeting discussed a plethora of topics that will be laid out on the agenda of the meeting of the ministers of culture on Monday which apparently concerns the cultural media with respect to heritage and cultural indicators, as well as ISESCO's programmes for the capitals of culture in the Islamic world, in addition to many proposals that will be submitted to the ministerial conference.
In addition, the meeting featured the presentation of an array of proposals for hosting the capitals of culture in the Islamic world during the upcoming period, including the nomination of Lusail city as the capital of culture in the Islamic world 2030.
The meeting also discussed ISESCO's document to combat illicit trafficking in the property, as well as other documents.
During the ISESCO's 18th meeting, the representative of the State of Palestine presented a proposal to make Jerusalem a permanent capital of Islamic culture, whilst the representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia presented two proposals, the first one related to launching culture indicators in the Islamic world to collect data and monitor cultural and political activities, as well as support the member states in charting their cultural policies, while the second one was pertinent to launching a programme for Hajj route, routes of trade caravans, and the routes of travellers, scholars, students and manuscript, etc.
