Call to Culture Ministers in the Maghreb Union to Establish a Joint Maghreb Cultural Council
Today, the initiative "Free Step" sent an open letter to the culture ministers of the Maghreb countries, urging the establishment of a Maghreb Cultural Council as a permanent platform to enhance cultural cooperation between Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania, and to overcome political differences through cultural diplomacy.
The letter emphasized that culture, as a soft power, has the ability to mend the torn ties among the peoples of the region, calling for this council to be considered a unified voice for Maghreb culture, both within the countries and in the diaspora.
The message presented a detailed vision for the council’s structures, objectives, and areas of work, ranging from organizing joint seminars and festivals to establishing an electronic library and a cultural memory archive, as well as exchanging experiences and supporting cultural industries and developing cross-border youth and artistic programs.
The document proposed practical steps to establish the council, beginning with the issuance of a joint official declaration of intent from the ministries of culture, followed by the formation of a preparatory ministerial committee, and then organizing an official founding meeting that includes intellectual figures and representatives from the cultural civil society. It also called for the preparation of a clear foundational law and the appointment of a competent and consensual Secretary-General, in addition to creating a Maghreb cultural funding fund to finance publishing and translation projects.
