30 C. General Conference 30th Session, Paris C/83 5 November 1999 Original: English. Item 4.15 of the agenda 1 ARABIA PLAN

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1 General Conference 30th Session, Paris C 30 C/83 5 November 1999 Original: English Item 4.15 of the agenda 1 ARABIA PLAN 1 This item was included in the agenda of the General Conference, at the request of Oman, in accordance with Rule 15, paragraph 2, of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference.

2 30 C/83 Arab Group at UNESCO 1, Rue Miollis Paris Date: 25 October 1999 Your Excellency, The Arab Members of the Executive Board at its 30th session underlined the fact that the Arabia Plan had been omitted from the Draft Programme and Budget 30 C/5. The report of the 18th Regional Conference of Arab National Commissions, held in Beirut in June 1998, invited the Director-General to elaborate a detailed programme for the Arabia Plan and to present it for approval to the 30th session of the General Conference. Since this was not done, we the Member States of the Arab Group request the addition of a new item to the provisional agenda of the 30th session of the General Conference entitled Arabia Plan (attached please find the guidelines for this Plan for discussion in the new item). It was approved by 134 EX/Decision and 136 EX/Decision and therefore should continue to figure in the C/5. We request that this proposal for a new item be presented to the General Committee of the General Conference in accordance with rule 44, paragraph 1(c) and that it should be discussed in Commission IV. We hope that this proposal will be accepted and that the Arabia Plan will become one of UNESCO s priorities. Yours faithfully, Dr Musa Bin Jaafar BIN HASSAN (signed) Ambassador Permanent Delegate of Oman to UNESCO Vice-Chairman of the Arab Group H.E. Dr Federico MAYOR Director-General UNESCO Place de Fontenoy Paris copy to Mr S. KOL

3 30 C/83 - page 2 ARABIA Purpose The aims of the programme are to provide the Arab countries with a framework within which to develop their cultural heritage, preserving the past but placing particular emphasis on the future, opening the Arab world to new influences and technologies while safeguarding the integrity of Arab heritage. It should especially promote contemporary literary, artistic, scientific and intellectual Arab culture. It is also hoped that by promoting intercultural exchanges and cooperation, not only will the Arab world become more familiar with other cultures, but the other regions of the world will learn more about Arab culture, thereby strengthening UNESCO s mission of promoting tolerance and mutual respect between peoples. Scope The programme is intended to be specific and practically oriented, with special emphasis on young people since they constitute the future of Arab culture. It is therefore suggested that the programme encompass the following major pillars: (1) Reading for all. (2) The Arab open library. (3) The Arab cultural capital. It is also suggested that an intercultural focus be a common transverse theme in all of the above subprogrammes. Background Throughout Arab cultural life, there are shortcomings common to all the countries of the region. These include a lack of infrastructure and training as well as scant promotion of creativity and production of cultural works. Current Arab cultural policy is dominated by three themes: the updating of the classical heritage, the training of elites, and the development of cultural tourism. It is an approach that is geared more to the past than the future and one which fosters an elitism which does a disservice to the cultural needs and aspirations of the population as a whole. UNESCO cannot expect to correct all these faults, but it can help substantially to alleviate them and make a vital contribution to filling the gaps in Arab cultural life. In particular, it can assist in the coordination of existing efforts so as to make them more efficient; encourage populations which are at present culturally marginalized to become involved in the creation and production of culture, and promote a number of specific events and activities in especially sensitive areas where existing work has been inadequate or even non-existent. The aim of such a fresh approach is to reverse existing trends by promoting the future of culture, rather than its past; bringing culture closer to the people and thereby avoiding elitism, and involving culture in the resolution of problems of social development.

4 30 C/83 - page 3 1. Reading for all This is already part of UNESCO s programme activities, and has been especially successful in Egypt, thanks to Suzanne Mubarak s project to promote reading amongst the most disadvantaged parts of the population, and elsewhere in the Arab world through the Kitab-fi-Jarida project. The aim is to make this activity common to all the Arab countries. It would focus on the widespread dissemination of pocket versions of key works as well as the translation of some 100 reference works in cultural areas where there is currently a shortage of material: sciences, economics, politics, social sciences, etc. Universities and research centres in the region would be asked to cooperate in this endeavour. A prior inventory of already translated works would be required before undertaking such an activity. It is also to be hoped that the subprogramme may derive benefit from new technologies, especially the electronic media, the Internet and other information technologies. It might also include an International Day for the Electronic Dissemination of Books. 2. The Arab open library The aim of this subprogramme is to promote library-reading using new technologies. This will permit remote access to electronically stored works in renowned international libraries, both within and beyond the Arab world, thanks to the Internet. Libraries such as the Alexandria Library and the Jbail Centre for Social Sciences in Lebanon as well as national and public libraries in the Arab countries might be linked up to such a network along with leading libraries around the world so that Arab students may have instant access to a variety of sources for their research. 3. The Arab cultural capital Since each year a different prominent Arab city is selected as Arab cultural capital, it is suggested that the Arabia programme might contribute to such an event by assisting in the undertaking of local and regional activities and by launching roving Arab festivals to promote the capital concerned. This would be done in close cooperation with local associations and organizations. The intercultural focus One of the most important purposes of the Arabia programme should be the promotion of intercultural dialogue and exchange in order to promote UNESCO s message of tolerance. This can be achieved by a number of measures: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) encouraging the translation of reference books, artistic, literary and scientific works into Arabic; supporting efforts to translate Arab literature into other major languages; promoting university exchange programmes, for example through the UNITWIN scheme, in the cultural and intellectual fields; encouraging exchanges of television and radio programmes and films between the Arab countries and other regions.

5 30 C/83 - page 4 Structure of the programme Advisory Committee This consultative body should act as a think tank and comprise seven members, chosen from among candidates submitted by the Arab countries and designated by the Director-General for a term of four years. They shall not be eligible for re-election. The new slate of members shall be elected for a term of two years. They shall not be eligible for re-election. Ad hoc Committee This will be a body, acting as a task force and comprising members of the Secretariat and intellectuals from outside the Organization, which will convene from time to time to assist in implementation of specific projects.