The Arab Capital of Culture is an initiative taken by the
Arab League under the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. I ...
Cultural Capitals Program to promote and celebrate
Arab culture
Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean in the southeast. The various religions the Ara ...
and encourage cooperation in the Arab region.
Cultural capitals
Map
See also
*
*
Notes
}), officially simply Palestine, by the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establishing Arab unity and st ...
(PLO) in 1988, and again by the
Palestinian Legislative Council
The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It currently comprises 132 members, ...
in May 2002.
Palestine is a member of the
Arab League and then Secretary-General
Amr Moussa
Amr Moussa ( ar, عمرو موسى, , Amr Muhammad Moussa; born 3 October 1936) is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the Secretary-General of the Arab League, a 22-member forum representing Arab states, from 1 June 2001 to 1 July 201 ...
supported the Arab ministers' decision that Jerusalem be designated the Arab Capital of Culture for 2009. The city's final status awaits the outcome of future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (se
"Negotiating Jerusalem", University of Marylandand
Positions on Jerusalem
The status of Jerusalem is disputed in both international law and diplomatic practice, with both the Israelis and Palestinians claiming Jerusalem as their capital city.Moshe Hirsch, Deborah Housen-Couriel, Ruth Lapidoth''Whither Jerusalem?: Pro ...
for more information). In the context of the Arab Capital of Culture, the organising committee is Palestinian and the Israeli authorities have discouraged the holding of events in Jerusalem itself.
References
External links
Algiers Arab Capital of Culture 2007 - Official websiteDamascus Arab Capital of Culture 2008 - Official websiteAl-Quds Arab Capital of Culture 2009 - Official websiteManama Arab Capital of Culture 2012 - Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab Capital Of Culture
UNESCO
Arab culture