The Arab-German Cultural Dialogue
On April 9th, 2008, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with East-West Diwan Cultural Association, a Berlin-based not-for-profit organization, to explore new avenues for enhanced Arab-European cultural cooperation.
The agreement came in line with the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to establish close cultural ties with Germany. During his visit to Berlin in February 2008, His Highness met an elite group of Germany’s leading cultural figures and urged Arab and German intellects to pave the way for wider dialogue between the West and the Arab world.
Upon signing the MoU, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation initiated a workshop to discuss plans to translate the understanding into initiatives and programmes that will lay the foundations for a new phase of cultural interaction that is driven by mutual understanding.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation sees translation as an effective tool in shaping civilizations. Accordingly, it has adopted a long-term plan to translate selected Arabic books into German and vice versa. In this regard, the Foundation has joined hands with East-West Diwan Cultural Association which shares the Foundation objectives, to supervise the translation work.
Books to be translated from Arabic into German (available in Arabic only)
The Arab-German Literary Forum (Dubai, 26-27 November 2008) is one of the initiatives of this understanding. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation has invited a group of prominent German and Arab intellectuals to meet in Dubai, the city that brings together Arab culture and world civilizations.
Through this Forum, the Foundation seeks to achieve a number of objectives, from getting to know the “other” and closely communicating with them to establishing a “dialogue of civilizations”, versus the “clash of civilizations”, a term disliked by those who believe in the human aspect of culture.
The outcomes of such intellectual discussions will long live in the memory of Dubai, host of the Arab-German Cultural Dialogue as the party representing the Arab World in this wonderful approach.
The Arab-German Cultural Dialogue agenda will discuss a number of tasks to be handled by the Foundation including:
- Cooperation in the field of translating literary and intellectual works from German into Arabic and vice versa.
- Organizing inter-cultural activities and events similar to the Arab-German Literary Forum
- Holding cultural conferences and workshops that will enhance strong cultural dialogues between the two cultures
- Exchanging experiences and scholars, and promoting studies and initiatives which will foster inter-cultural dialogue
- Collaborating in the protection of intellectual property rights
- Setting up communication channels between the cultural authorities and organizations in both countries
- Developing the human resources skills in the fields of cultural heritage and traditional and modern arts
Schedule of the Arab-German Literary Forum
Detailed Schedule of the Forum (available in Arabic only)