Tunis, July 6 (BNA) The Department of Museums and Antiquities at the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities wins the second prize in the Excellence Award in Museum and Cultural Guidance (for bodies and ministries) from the Arab Cultural Guide Program. Organized by the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science (ALECSO).
The results of the competition were announced during a press conference held at the headquarters of the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) in Tunisia.
The program was launched by Sheikha Alizia bint Nahyan Al Nahyan, Ambassador of Culture to ALECSO, in March 2022 and will run until December 2022, in cooperation with ALECSO and with the participation of the Arab Organization of Museums (ICOM).
Sheikha Al-Yaziyah made history in October when she became the first person to be appointed an ‘Exceptional Ambassador for Culture at ALECSO’ for the year 2021-2022, in recognition of her remarkable cultural and creative achievements locally, regionally and internationally.
The program, in which a number of Arab countries participated, aims to encourage Arab youth to pay attention to their heritage, preserve and enhance it, and prepare a distinguished cultural guide through qualifying young people and providing them with integrated experiences and qualifications.
It keeps pace with the needs of visitors to museums and cultural and historical sites, and is in line with the standards of international cultural guidance.
The program also creates a strong and unique relationship between museums and families during and after the program period.
The Arab Cultural Guide Program with its slogan “History is our Gateway to the Future” has supervised many interactive and promotional programs, activities and competitions directed at Arab cultural guides, museums and archaeological sites, which will continue until the end of this year. .
The program includes several phases to be implemented successively in different Arab countries. It revolves around highlighting the museum’s role in preserving heritage and historical identity, in addition to being a cultural and research center that raises the community’s awareness of its different cultural identity.
The competitions were among the most important motivational activities, as they included three prizes in several areas.
The ceremony was attended by Dr. Mohamed Ould Ammar, Director General of ALECSO, and Director General of the Arab Organization of Museums (ICOM), and Dr. Sherki Dhamali, Vice President of the International Council of Museums – Arab Regional Alliance and member of the Advisory Board of the Arab Museums Organization. International Council of Museums, Murad Al Mahmoudi, Acting Director of the Department of Culture at ALECSO, Dr. Fathi Al-Jari, expert in the Department of Culture at ALECSO, several directors of departments in ALECSO, and cultural attachés in the embassies of Arab countries. Countries, winners and media.
Awards:
Excellence Award in Museum and Cultural Guidance (for agencies and ministries)
First Prize: Ministry of Culture and Youth of the United Arab Emirates, Heritage and Arts Sector, Cultural Heritage Department
Second Prize: Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities – Department of Museums and Antiquities
Third Prize: Qatar Museums Authority
Excellence in Museum and Cultural Guidance Award (for museums and archaeological sites)
First Prize: Sebastia Archaeological Museum, Palestine
Second prize, Djerba Folklore Museum, Tunisia
Third Prize: Museum of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah, Essaouira, Morocco
Honoring the unique posts of:
1- Maryam Al Raisi, director of the Natural History Museum in Amman
2- Shadia Khalafallah from the General National Museum of Setif, Algeria
3- Riyad Bakrom from Mukalla Museum, Yemen
I am pleased to welcome you all to the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization on the occasion of this press conference dedicated to one of the most important programs included in the activities of the Ambassador of Culture in ALECSO, the Cultural Mentor Program, said Ould Ammar in his speech.
“The program was launched a few months ago and has created an impressive movement in our Arab museums, as it has given our cultural guides the opportunity to launch several groundbreaking and well-publicized initiatives.”
He stressed the great demand since the program was known to all those interested in this field, including professionals, students, specialists and the community, which indicates the originality of this idea, and the foresight and distinction of Sheikha Al Yazia and her dedication to the importance of it. The fields and their accurate knowledge of the needs of Arab museums, curators and visitors.
The pioneering initiatives and the various activities undertaken by our cultural guides within the framework of this program foretell a bright future for our museums in our Arab countries, people with special needs and other groups interested in culture and heritage, and for all that, he said that ALECSO did not hesitate to adopt and support this program and put its great experience in Coordinating joint Arab action and providing all conditions for its success.
Today, as we present the results of this program, its participants, and the events it included, we remember the hour we announced its launch and the start of its implementation, and the hope that led us to hold a regular annual meeting of cultural guides. In Arab countries to showcase their projects and initiatives and spread their polished message. We will set an annual date to tour our museums and enjoy the marvels of civilization and continue to encourage and motivate young people in Arab countries to learn, honor and deeply cherish traditions and heritage.”
Ould Ammar renewed his invitation to visit our museums, historical monuments and archaeological sites, hoping that it would become a good behavior and a well-established culture among youth, students and the masses of citizens to benefit from the richness of these immortal cultural edifices. .
“This would not have been achieved without the high degree of cooperation, coordination and joint work between the organization and the culture ambassador for ALECSO programme, on which we rely a lot in promoting the bright image of our organization through the various activities it contains, which are still many.”
He thanked all the participants, the Arab countries that participated, and the various media outlets that accompanied this program since its inception and helped to introduce and promote it, and the Arab Organization of Museums, which helped frame the participants, arbitrate their works, and accompany them throughout the program period. Various stages and the hard working team of the organization and representatives of the culture ambassador for ALECSO program to achieve all this success.
Many Arab cultural institutions, including museums, worked during the period of the Arab Cultural Guide Program to continue to preserve and promote heritage and to attract the public.
They believe that the interest in tangible heritage and the development of its display in museums will be due to the development of people’s social and psychological awareness of their cultural heritage, and bringing them closer to their authentic identity, considering that heritage is a vessel for cultural diversity and a factor that ensures sustainable development – as stipulated in the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Heritage cultural.
Nine Arab countries participated in the first category of the competition: the United Arab Emirates through several museum institutions, the Bahrain National Museum (Archaeology and Ethnography) in Bahrain, the Djerba Museum of Traditional Heritage in Tunisia, the Archeology Museum in Setif, Algeria, and the Natural History Museum. Oman, the Sebastia Archaeological Museum in Nablus – Palestine, the State of Qatar through several museum institutions, the Essaouira Museum (Archaeology and Ethnography) in Morocco, and the Mukalla Museum in Yemen.
The participating countries presented a set of live visual performances, organized visits to museums and archaeological sites for primary and secondary school students, distributed publications and museum guides, and held various workshops that contributed to transforming heritage into a tangible reality practiced by children, youth and youth. All target groups.
Some participants also drew attention to specific categories of visitors, people of determination, people with special abilities, the blind, the elderly, specialists in cultural guidance and foreign communities residing in their countries.
Stages of the Arab Cultural Guide Program
The Cultural Guide Program is divided into six phases preceded by the preparation phase from November 2021 to February 2022 as follows:
• March 1 – May 31: Opening the door for participation and receiving official contributions from museums, cultural organizations and relevant ministries
• April 20-May 31: A total of 146 participants from 16 Arab countries are registered for the Open Call for Cultural Guides
• June 1-6: The applications for participation were sorted according to some criteria, including qualifications, experience, desire to develop the sector and other academic standards, bringing the number of qualified people to 119 from 16 Arab countries.
• June 16: A virtual training workshop was organized, presented by three experts from the Arab Organization of Museums (ICOM), in which 76 participants from 15 Arab countries participated in empowering cultural guides and museum officials in terms of enhancing their modern artistic skills. and allowing them access to knowledge and information. The final part of the workshop was a closed discussion by the researchers, in which they proposed studies and ideas for a qualitative and positive role in the framework of the Sustainable Ideas Competition.
• July 5: Announcing the award categories and winners
• September: Awards Ceremony
• December: Organizing a tour of the winning museums
The results of the sustainable ideas and projects competition will be announced after interviews with the finalists to select three winners and honorees from a list of nearly twenty projects and sustainable heritage ideas submitted by 12 Arab countries.