Katara Initiative Gives the Arabic Book a Position in the World

Dr. Mohamed Ould Amar, Director-General of the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (Alecso), complimented the organization's and Qatar's productive cooperation in cultural fields.

He emphasized the organization's role in safeguarding the cultural and civilizational heritage of Jerusalem and the rest of the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, as well as working with international governmental and non-governmental organizations in the cultural field to expose the Israeli occupation's practices of destroying Arab and Islamic cultural institutions. He stated that the Palestinian struggle, in all its aspects and manifestations, receives special attention and support from the organization as well as other Arab countries.

In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Alecso Director-General said that the organization succeeded in presenting a pioneering initiative to grant the Arabic novel its position in the Arab and global cultural scene in general, based on a request submitted by Cultural Village Foundation Katara in 2016 and in coordination with the rest of the Arab countries.

He explained that the World Novel Week was established during the 112th session of the Unesco Executive Council and the 41st session of the Unesco General Conference, both of which took place in November of last year, and that there will be an annual event from October 13 to October 20 each year with narrators and novels of different genres, topics, and purposes.

Dr. Amar stated that this is an opportunity for people all over the world to spread the values of tolerance, peace, and coexistence, as well as to promote human creativity in this field, particularly by introducing and highlighting what is rich in Arab civilization to all humanity. He also stated that the organization has begun preparing for this week by communicating with all those interested in this field in all Arab countries, with the intention of adopting a theme for each session, a theme that will be introduced to all humanity.

He emphasized that the issue of Palestine and its heritage is present in all Alecso activities, programs, and conferences, particularly in terms of the cultural aspect and mobilizing support for it, and also devoted a session to the Conference on Archeology and Cultural Heritage of the Palestinian Heritage, and in the meetings of the Urban and Architectural Heritage Observatory in the Arab Countries, whose fifth meeting was devoted to the topic pre-1948.

The 40th meeting of the Committee of Arab experts in world cultural and natural heritage was devoted to reviewing the Arab files on the list of world heritage in danger, with a special focus on the Jerusalem file: the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls, according to Dr. Amar.

He also emphasized the importance of assessing the trajectory of Arab cultural work during the Coronavirus epidemic, as well as proposing an Arab cultural project that engages in dynamic conflicts and answers to the issues confronting joint Arab cultural activity.

"We need a project that anticipates solutions and facilitates the exchange of knowledge and successful experiences in the sphere of cultural sectors amongst Arab countries so that we can profit from them and create a long-term recovery in local economies based on creativity," Dr. Amar added.