Building a shared vision on culture and arts education across the Arab region

During two days of consultations, some 100 participants of which 40 designated experts from 17 Arab States and stakeholders in culture and arts education were joined by members of UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks, and NGOs in partnership with UNESCO. Together, they explored ways to take the new UNESCO global Framework forward and identified the following actions to put the synergy between culture and education into practice:

• Mapping the needs of  diverse stakeholders within each country to inform policy-making and reflect the regional perspective  
• Developing a holistic approach to culture and arts education that encompasses all cultural fields – from living heritage to cultural and creative industries
• Strengthening free, equitable access to culture and arts education at all levels of education, especially for vulnerable and marginalized communities and people in remote areas. As noted by some countries of the region, for instance, enabling refugees to learn about their own cultures as well as the local and national cultures where they live in order to promote social cohesion and inclusion
• Ensuring greater integration of culture and arts education in curricula – including technical and vocational education and training (TVET) – to pave the way towards cultural diversity, gender equality and women and girl’s empowerment
• Equipping teachers with digital skills and providing them with adequate digital infrastructure to teach cultural and artistic fields that will better respond to young learners’ advanced capacities, needs and interests
• Adapting curricula to the rapidly-evolving learning environment, supporting practice-driven teaching methods and engaging directly with artists and heritage bearers
• Monitoring the impact of learning in and through culture and the arts was identified as a forward-looking area for policy investment

The UNESCO global Framework on Culture and Arts Education is expected to be presented at the UNESCO World Conference on Culture and Arts Education to be convened by UNESCO and hosted by the United Arab Emirates in December 2023.