The State of Qatar was elected a member of the Inter-Governmental Committee of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions during the seventh session of the Conference of Parties to the 2005 Convention held in Paris last week.
In 2009, Qatar joined the Unesco-led instrument, which aims to strengthen the creation, production, dissemination, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions transmitted by cultural activities, with a strong focus on developing countries. The Convention has 146 parties, 145 countries and the European Union. During the 7th session of the Conference of the Parties in Paris, some 98 countries voted to elect 12 new members of the Inter-Governmental Committee. 59 countries voted for the State of Qatar in Group 5b of the Arab Group.
Qatar’s election to the Committee reaffirmed the confidence of the international community in the State of Qatar to protect and strengthen cultural diversity and expression, both at home and abroad.
The Ministry of Culture and Sports, which represented the State of Qatar at the summit, presented a detailed paper highlighting the cultural diversity in Qatar and the initiatives the country has taken to promote cultural expression, as well as its support for regional and international cooperation and communication.
Qatar is a truly multi-cultural society with people, languages, and cuisines from all over the world coming together under the overarching Arab-Muslim identity of Qatar. Doha has a rich cultural calendar with dozens of cultural troupes coming to the city from across the globe every year.
The Qatari delegation at the Unesco event rightly highlighted the importance of cultural diversity and its support as an essential dimension of intercultural dialogue and an important factor for sustainable development. The celebration of cultural diversity also promotes human rights and the sense of belonging and identity with full respect for other cultural identities coexisting in a single society.
The State of Qatar has taken a number of steps to strengthen cultural expression and celebration in recent years, including the Cultural Years Project; the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, which is composed of 101 musicians from the region; the World Cultural House Project; the Francophone Cultural Days in the State; the establishment of community radio stations in Qatar and the Cultural Village Festival at Qatar University.
Qatar’s National Vision 2030 also encompasses cultural diversity and expression as part of the roadmap for sustainable development. Some trailblazing initiatives the State of Qatar has taken to advance the dialogue of civilisations and to promote peaceful coexistence between different religions and cultures include Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue, the Qatar Committee for the Alliance of Civilizations, the Qatar Global Award for Dialogue among Civilizations, Wijdan (Conscience) Cultural Centre, Doha Award for Drama Writing, the Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding, and the Cultural Diversity Festival in Katara.
