Several achievements of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture, including those that took Lebanon to the international level

Amman, February 17 (Petra/Fana) – Prepared by Amal Mansour – Culture in Lebanon is the only sector that has not been affected by events, divisions, political disputes, etc.

According to the cultural bulletin of the National News Agency within the cultural file of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), since the Lebanese Minister of Culture in the caretaker government, Judge Mohammad Wissam Al-Murtada, assumed his duties, he has strengthened the role of culture in society and expressed his vision for its concept and the role of the ministry.

“Lebanon’s first capital is culture, which necessitates making it the core of our struggle for the sake of our quest for its salvation, advancement and restoration of its leadership. Culture is what instills in us awareness of what is being plotted against us and forces us to move from the darkness of isolation and fanaticism to the spaciousness of openness and convergence. It is what enables us to overcome the obstacles resulting from our differences and disagreements, and leads us to cooperate together to save the ship of the nation and move it, if not to a safe harbor, then at least to waters of lesser madness until God decides what is to be done,” he said.

The Lebanese Minister of Culture stressed his insistence that “Lebanon regain its position as a cultural beacon and a center for convergence and dialogue between civilizations, and he pledged, in the interim, to do everything in his power to support and value the cultural efforts of the Lebanese, whether at home or abroad, while being keen to hold cultural events in the best way that the current financial situation of our troubled country allows.”

Indeed, he carried the banner of spreading the culture of awareness in society at all levels, in conjunction with developing the work of the ministry, its directorates and administrative councils, including the reopening of the National Library headquarters after the completion of restoration work due to the damage to the building as a result of the sinful Beirut Port explosion, and breathing life back into this cultural edifice that has become a destination for intellectuals in Lebanon and the world, where various events are held throughout the week, including lectures, seminars, cultural and musical heritage evenings, and visual arts exhibitions.

Among the achievements of the Lebanese Ministry of Culture is the revival of Lebanese zajal poetry after it was on the way to extinction, this intangible cultural heritage about which Minister Al-Murtada said in the context of his speech, “Zajal constitutes the main feature of Lebanese folk literature, and the language that speaks of the conditions of the Lebanese village, which the late writer Anis Freiha saw as a civilization on the way to extinction, so zajal immortalizes its traditions and revives its social and economic tools from the depths of oblivion and brings them back into existence.”

The Rashid Karami International Fair in Tripoli, the capital of northern Lebanon, was also included on the World Heritage List. After Tyre, Byblos, Baalbek, Anjar and Wadi Qannoubine, the exhibition of the late President Rashid Karami became on the World Heritage List by decision of the international UNESCO organization, in dedication to the tireless efforts made by the Ministry of Culture for more than a year, with the support of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, to protect some sections of this landmark damaged by time and neglect, and to restore it as a distinguished architectural monument, prepared to revive art and heritage exhibitions, hold musical, cultural and theatrical celebrations, and benefit from all its wings and facilities in everything that serves national and northern development.

The Ministry of Culture’s achievements include the opening of the regional office of the Francophonie Organization in Beirut, in the presence of Secretary-General Louise Mushikiwayo, which confirms that Lebanon is open to meeting all cultures within the controls set by its laws, and “is very pleased that the Francophonie moon appears from the sky of its capital to the entire East, and that Beirut is the sun around which the planets of culture revolve in the orbit of this world,” as Minister Al-Murtada said.
Lebanon also had the honor of being allocated the first seat in the UNESCO General Conference in its forty-second session, and the Ministry worked to activate the project to train those concerned in Lebanon to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property, especially since the Ministry of Culture plays a leading role in combating the trafficking of cultural property and protecting Lebanon’s cultural heritage by preventing the looting of archaeological sites.

In this context, the Minister of Culture inaugurated an exhibition of a group of artifacts recently discovered at the Byblos archaeological site at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and later inaugurated the “Last Dress Exhibition, Funerary Discoveries from the Assi Hadath Cave in Lebanon” at the headquarters of the Abegg Foundation in Riegersberg, Switzerland.

The Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Lebanese Publishers Association, organized the “2023 International Book Fair” in Beirut, with the attendance of a large number of Ministers of Culture and Arab and foreign publishing houses. It seeks to activate public libraries partnering with it and establish more libraries in remote areas, in accordance with the principle of balanced development. The Ministry participated in international exhibitions, including the International Contemporary Art Exhibition – Venice Biennale.

The ministry, in a remarkable move, declared February 25 of each year as the “National Day of Lebanese Fine Arts”, affirming its support for young talents in the fine arts sector with the launch of the Happy Drawing Team and the Senior Art of Joy from Lebanon to the world. It also worked on including some private museums on the list of national museums after ensuring that they meet international standards to be included among national museums.

It also worked on issuing the implementing decree for artists in Lebanon and signing it in the Council of Ministers based on a proposal submitted by the Minister of Culture. It also sought to revive the Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music – the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra.

We are at the beginning of the year 2024, and the anticipated event will be the future achievement of the Ministry of Culture, the celebration of the event “Tripoli, Capital of Arab Culture for the year 2024” based on the recommendation of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), where preparations are in full swing to receive guests and visitors to a city distinguished by everything it contains culturally, socially, historically and heritage. It is the city of “the story of time and man”, the phrase at the end of the slogan launched by the Minister of Culture.

“We conclude our report” with a statement by the Lebanese Minister of Culture, in which he stressed that “culture is a window of hope through which we seek to establish a better future, and that Lebanese culture is an extraordinary culture, fixed in our subconscious, and very distinct compared to any culture existing among any people on the face of the Earth,” noting that “the most important thing is that in times of siege, times of hardship and difficult times, culture remains a window of hope through which we look to seek optimism and strive to achieve the best and establish a better future.”

The Lebanese Minister Mortada continued: “The word revives and the word kills, and what we emphasize is that Lebanon and its people are unparalleled, as there cannot be a people on the face of the earth equipped with genes, and lived through all the crises and hardships that the Lebanese people have gone through throughout history, and equipped to rise again and make a difference even in the most difficult circumstances.”

He concluded, “Yes, Lebanese culture is an extraordinary culture, despite everything, our culture remains an important source for spreading awareness, and any people who live in a state of awareness can overcome challenges and rise again. Culture creates balance in easy days, but in times of siege, times of hardship and difficult times, culture remains a window of hope through which we look out and feel optimistic and strive to achieve the best and establish a better future.”