The 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, held by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and hosted by the State of Qatar represented by the Ministry of Culture, kicked off on Monday under the slogan "Towards the Renewal of Cultural Action in the Islamic World", in the presence of a large number of Ministers of Cultural Affairs, delegations of ISESCO Member States, and representatives of a group of regional and international organizations working in the cultural fields.
In his speech during the first session, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al Thani, Minister of Culture and Chairman of the Conference, welcomed the participants, pointing out that the convening of this conference came after Doha was two years ago the capital of Islamic culture, and Doha at that time translated its rich cultural wealth as a land of dialogue and a meeting place for cultures, and its cultural events contributed to introducing the characteristics of Islamic culture on its land.
He stressed that the State of Qatar attaches great importance to culture in achieving development and building people, and that culture was not absent from the World Cup (Qatar 2022), the most prominent global event organized by Qatar with great success, as the World Cup was not just a sporting occasion, but proved that culture remains the cornerstone of international events of any kind, noting that the State of Qatar broadcast all the Arab-Islamic cultural messages that won the respect of the peoples of the world and knew the richness of our values and their ability to build a civilized personality.
He called for attention to the priority of renewing the vision of those responsible for cultural work, which emerges from a new understanding of the challenges of building the human being and the aspirations of new generations.
The Minister of Culture also stressed that the act of renewal is fraught with dangers if the national culture is not immune from within and able to impose its privacy abroad, calling for preserving cultural identity and immunizing new generations in the face of destructive ideas.
In his speech at the beginning of the opening session of the Conference, Dr. Salem bin Mohammed Al-Malik, Director General of ISESCO, expressed his thanks to the State of Qatar, the Emir, the government and the people of Qatar for hosting this major cultural event in Doha, adding that Qatar has shown great ingenuity and has taken up the challenges of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™, where culture has won its best fortune in the history of the World Championship.
He stressed that ISESCO fulfills its duty in cultural work, considering that culture is not just an identity or a social discrimination label, as much as it is a pulse for peoples to contribute to civilization, reviewing the Organization's efforts in this context, and its most prominent initiatives to develop and renew cultural work in the Islamic world, by employing artificial intelligence applications, integrating youth in heritage preservation and valorization efforts, establishing a number of projects and programs, and innovating new concepts in order to serve civilizational communication.
Religion and civilization
In her speech, Irina Bokova, former Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the guest of honor of the conference, stressed that Islam is a religion of peace, that Islamic civilization has always been an engine of rapprochement between cultures and that Islamic values promote science, culture and civilizational interaction.
Bokova stressed that the State of Qatar was able to make the organization of the World Cup a dialogue between the cultures of the world, praising at the same time the cultural renaissance witnessed by Qatar at the cultural level and its cooperation with UNESCO in various fields, including heritage, as Doha hosted the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2013.
She also praised ISESCO's efforts in the fields of heritage protection and support for youth and women and for being a partner of UNESCO in many goals.
The opening ceremony witnessed the screening of a documentary film on what was achieved during the celebration of Doha Capital of Culture in the Islamic World 2021, under the slogan "Our Culture is Light", in addition to a film on ISESCO's achievements and initiatives.
After the conclusion of the opening session of the 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic World, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad Al-Thani, Minister of Culture, Dr. Salem bin Mohammed Al-Malik, Director General of ISESCO and the Ministers of Culture toured the exhibition accompanying the conference, which included plastic arts, artworks, manuscripts and exhibits of a number of centers affiliated to the Ministry of Culture, in addition to a special pavilion of ISESCO, to display the most important publications of the Organization in its fields of competence.
The 12th Conference of Ministers of Culture adopted a set of decisions, the most important of which are the adoption of the Qatari city of Lusail as the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World 2030, the documents for the development of ISESCO's program for capitals of culture in the Islamic world, ways to develop them and the most important candidate countries to host capitals of culture in the Islamic world in the coming period.
During the conference, the organization's efforts in supporting cultural work in light of its vision and strategic directions were reviewed, as well as the report of the Islamic World Heritage Committee and the document on guidelines for cultural policies.
The Conference will continue its sessions over two days to adopt the reports and documents before the Ministers of Culture and the delegations of the participating States.