Article
The Republic of Djibouti held a validation workshop for its first National Cultural Policy
On Wednesday, June 26, 2019, the Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Waqfs Assets in collaboration with UNESCO organized a consultation and finalization workshop on the National Cultural Policy and its Action Plan, in the presence of 30 stakeholders at the People's Palace in Djibouti.
Following the of the UNESCO project for the development of the first national cultural policy in January 2019, the national team of the Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Waqfs Assets worked in close collaboration with UNESCO's international expert in cultural policy, Ms. Tojo Yharimanana, and in of the country, to develop a comprehensive national cultural policy in just six months.
Djibouti's National Culture Policy is guided by the , and it takes into account the orientations of the , the United Nations and the African Union . It aims to strengthen the capacities of communities and institutions, and presents a transversal approach between education and culture in order to engage Djiboutian communities in the implementation of cultural policy and to ensure that they are the first beneficiaries.
The participants of the pre-validation workshop were composed of representatives of key ministries, cultural actors, civil society, and public organizations. Participants' comments reaffirmed the importance of: aligning the policy with the Djibouti Vision 2035, capacity building of the administration in charge of culture, development of regional cultural productions, resource mobilization, training in the trade and promotion of creativity, the adoption of cultural policy and the need to monitor its progress and evaluate its impact.
Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Sultan, Secretary General of the Ministry of Muslim Affairs, Culture and Waqfs Assets, opened the workshop explaining why “the Culture Policy is a valuable tool for the country and calling on stakeholders’ feedback for its validation."
In his remarks, the Director of Culture, Mr. Doualeh Hassan Ahmed, stressed that "the development of the Culture Policy was a combined effort involving all stakeholders in order to ensure it serves as a lever for the sustainable development of the country." He also thanked the work done by the national team, thematic groups, regional and cultural actors, which contributed to the successful elaboration of the national cultural policy.
Mr. Idriss Moussa, the Minister's Technical Advisor, urged the participants to take ownership of the content of the cultural policy, which provides an action plan for the cultural development of the country.
"UNESCO is honored to contribute to the elaboration of Djibouti's first cultural policy based on the road map initiated by the President of the Republic," said Ms. Ann Thérèse Ndong-Jatta, Director of the Regional Office of the UNESCO for East Africa. "The finalization of the national cultural policy is a step forward in supporting strong systems of governance for culture, creation, production, distribution and access to a diversity of cultural goods and services," she added.
Links/URLs:
