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The SouthMed CV Final Conference “Communities of practice for the public value of culture in the Southern Mediterranean’ was held at BOZAR in Brussels, Belgium, on 10 April 2018, bringing the project to an end.

From April 2015 to April 2018 SouthMed CV has showcased and strengthened the role of culture in fostering public spaces for active citizenship and has explored the contribution of culture towards economic, social and political development processes in the Southern Mediterranean. Through two open calls for proposals, SouthMed CV has supported and coached 38 cultural and innovative projects from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia that, through and with culture, have contributed to social inclusion, urban development, human rights, gender, cultural diversity, education, environment, etc… SouthMed CV has also fostered synergies with private and public stakeholders to strengthen mobility and exchanges across the Southern Mediterranean and with the European Union and other relevant initiatives in the region, such as the Roberto Cimetta Fund, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture – AFAC, Al-Mawred Al Thaqafi Cultural Resource, the Anna Lindh Foundation, and the Drosos Foundation.

Ultimately, SouthMed CV has strengthened and given visibility to new communities of practice across the Southern Mediterranean. Its sub-granting scheme and methodology has proven to be a successful type of action that could be invested in and developed on through a longer term basis in the region.

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Under the Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and in partnership with the Centre for Fine Arts – BOZAR, the project ‘SouthMed CV – Communities of Practice for the Public Value of Culture in the Southern Mediterranean’ will hold its Final Conference on 10 April 2018 at BOZAR in Brussels, Belgium.

The Final Conference will present the achievements of SouthMed CV and 38 sub-granted projects that have enhanced the idea that culture can have a social and economic impact in the Southern Mediterranean, thus contributing to the sustainable human development of the region. The event will also include the presentation of the printed book ‘MAHATTAT’ which gives an account of the cultural dynamics that animated the southern shore of the Mediterranean from 2015 to 2018 through the prism of SouthMed CV.

The Final Conference will consist of a closed session and an open event. The opening of the closed session will count with the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Wijdan bint Fawwaz Al Hashemi of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and representatives of BOZAR, Interarts, and the EU, co-funder of the SouthMed CV within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

Oussama Rifahi – Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (Lebanon) – and Ferdinand Richard – Roberto Cimetta Fund (France) – will be the key speakers of this part of the Conference which will bring together the SouthMed CV consortium, representatives of the European Commission and of the diplomatic corps in Belgium, alongside experts and cultural operators from Europe, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon and Palestine.

During the open event, addressed to the general public in Brussels, SouthMed CV sub-grantees will present their experiences on how culture has been a key element for raising awareness on human rights issues, re-thinking the processes of urban planning, creating civic engagement platforms for young people, contributing to the economic development through the professionalisation of cultural operators, as well as promoting South-South cooperation.

Mercedes Giovinazzo, Interarts Director, and Fatin Farhart, External Evaluator of SouthMed CV from Palestine, will share with the audience the conclusions on this project that has also fostered cross-border collaboration, networking and peer-to-peer exchanges among cultural operators from the targeted countries through capacity-building and mobility sessions.

A Press Conference will be held in the morning of 10 April, before the main event, in order to present the SouthMed CV project to the media.

Click here for registration:

https://bozar.efficy.com/EFFICY.DLL/guest?app=bozarEven&page=pages/Registration.htm&kprod=210495&lang=en

Click here to download the programme.

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Photo credit: FANNI RAGHMAN ANNI, Ramallah (Palestine)

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MAHATTAT, which sets out the experience of the project ‘SouthMed CV – Communities of Practice for the Public Value of Culture in the Southern Mediterranean’, will be published in March 2018. The book comes with a comic by well-known Tunisian illustrator, artist and cartoonist Seïf Eddine Nechi, who also designed the book cover and illustrations. Founding member of LAB-619, Nechi has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, including the latest International Angoulême Festival (January 2018). He won best digital comic at the CairoComix International Festival 2017 (September 2017) for Bombyx Mori. For this comic Nechi has devised a plot in which two characters, Azem and Ajáj (who are reminiscent of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza), reflect on the role of culture in the Southern Mediterranean region as they are on their travels. The story highlights the importance of and need for culture in the development of society. Different colour schemes are used to reinforce this message, such as passages in chromatic and grey spectrums, use of black and white, etc. SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

About

SouthMed CV – Presentation

SouthMed CV – Storytelling

01-01019 Promote the Abilities of Young Writers with Disabilities – Effective Writers

Social Developmental Forum – SDF. Partners: General Union for Palestinian Writers / Fanni Raghman Anni

01-01034 THE GREENHOUSE, a platform for artistic experimentation in Casablanca’s public space

Atelier de L’Observatoire. Partners: Casamemoire / Casapatrimoine / EUNIC Casablanca

01-01103 Une danse pour demain

Association Les rencontres de la danse / Espace Darja. Partners: Association Jazz Ame – Cie Nacera Belaza / Association Initiative Urbaine

01-01110 Participatory research and artistic divulgation of Intangible Cultural Heritage associated to Chefchaouen Mediterranean Diet

Association Talassemtane pour l’Environnement et le Développement – ATED. Partners: Urban Municipality of Chefchaouen / Diversity & Development (D&D)

01-01127 Sail

Mass’Art Association for Alternative Culture. Partner: Social Protection Center for Youth in Tunis

01-01133 Youth for Environment

Young Palestinian Filmmakers. Partners: Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre / Cinema Jenin

01-01135 Interactive Theatre as a Tool for Social Change

Freedom Theatre. Partner: Ashtar for Theatre Productions and Trainings

01-01136 Think Tanger

Arty Farty Tanger. Partners: Techno Park Tanger / Racines

02-01044 Arts & Crafts Playground

Crossroad for Media Art Services. Partners: Meela/ Knowledge Steps

02-01047 Culture and Theatre against Discrimination

Egyptian Feminist Union. Partners: University of Cairo / Ministry of Youth of Egypt

02-01053 Our City Our Way

Safadi Cultural Foundation. Partners: Beirut Arab University/ Municipality of El Mina

02-01094 Concours des Jeunes Talents Tanjil

Tabadoul. Partners: Lorin Foundation/Visa for Music

02-01067 Youth for Change

Fragments Theatre. Partners: Lama Brother’s Theatre Palestine / Théâtre de l’Opprimé Casablanca

02-01105 Proposal for a Metropole

Dabateatr. Partners: Think Tanger – MHR programming

02-01143 Youth Engagement Index

NAHNOO. Partners: Architects for Change / LOYAC / URBEGO

02-01155 Small Screens

Association Tunisienne d´Action Culturelle – ATAC. Partners: Cinéma Itinérant Roadmovie – CIR / Ministry of Cultural Affairs of Tunisia / Ministry of Education of Tunisia

02-02128 PerForm: Performing Arts Consultancy Office

Reflection for Arts, Training and Development. Partners: Torraha Art and Society / Raseef Project

02-03042 ANHAR – The Arab Network for Human Rights Film Festivals

Ma3mal 612 Think Factory. Partners: Ma3mal 961 / SEMAT / ACTIF

02-03073 Inkylab

Maison de l’Image / Shutter Party. Partners: L’Uzine / Brokk’Art

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Recently, a big event of the project “SouthMed CV- Communities of Practice for the Public Value of Culture in the Southern Mediterranean” took place in Amman, Jordan, between 1st and 4th December 2017. Different activities were held, the first one was the final meeting with the six organizations that conform the SouthMed CV Consortium: Interarts, Spain, leader of the project; BAC Art Centre, Tunisia; Gudran for Art and Development, Egypt; Khayal, Arts & Education, Lebanon; National Centre for Culture and Arts – NCCA, Jordan; and the German Commission for the UNESCO, Germany. The meeting assessed the impact of the project on the targeted countries – Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia, and evaluated the results achieved by the sub-granted projects. On the following day, December 2nd, more than thirty representatives from the sub-granted projects took part on different capacity building and networking workshops on the following topics: the current challenges and perspectives of the state of culture in the Southern Mediterranean region; the synergies and partnerships achieved in the region; the contribution of SouthMed CV to culture as a vector of socio-economic development in the region; and the SouthMed CV role in the regional enhancement of Culture and Education. The sub-grantees also attended the Amman Regional Conference by participating in the work groups and in the panels. The work groups discussed several issues raised by the two main panels and their key speakers: On the one hand, ‘Building a cultural system in the Southern Mediterranean region’, and on the other, ‘Culture as a vector for development in the Southern Mediterranean region’. The Conference was held under the patronage of Her Majesty, Queen Noor Al Hussein, on the 3rd and 4th of December. Organized by the National Centre for Culture and Arts – NCCA and Interarts. Local authorities and experts from the Euro-Mediterranean region in the field of culture and development attended: Oussama Rifahi, Board member AFAC; Carole Gürtler, Head of Department Levant, Drosos Foundation; Helena Nassif, Executive director Al Mawred Al Thaqafi; Hicham Bouzid, Artistic director Think Tanger; Christiane Dabdoub, Team leader MedCulture; Ferdinand Richard, Chairman Roberto Cimetta Fund; Ammar Kessab, Senior Governance Specialist African Development Bank; Antonio Lázaro Gozalo, Director Instituto Cervantes Amán; Ouafa Belgacem, CEO and co-founder Culture Funding Watch; Fatin Farhat, Independent art operator and researcher, etc. Their key note speeches, together with the conclusions reached by the working groups, were shared in the plenary session that took place on the second day of the Conference. A video with a compilation of images about the activities and work implemented by eleven of the sub-granted projects, together with the SouthMed CV final publication content were shown on the second day of the conference, which culminated with the conclusions presented by Lina Attel and Mercedes Giovinazzo, directors of NCCA and Interarts, respectively. The conclusions highlighted the capacity of SouthMed CV to enable, strengthen and achieve a cooperation networking system between cultural organizations and other stakeholders across the Southern Mediterranean region, and its impact on different sectors of society. These results indicate the necessity for programs with a main focus on culture as a factor for development to continue funding the region, in order to improve the sustainability of the results achieved, and preferably on a longer duration basis than 36 months, the time allocated to the SouthMed CV project, which is to end in March 2018. SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU under the regional program Med Culture.

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Under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Noor Al Hussein, SouthMed CV will hold a regional conference in the Royal Cultural Center in Amman, Jordan on the 3rd and 4th of December 2017. The conference will bring together representatives of 30 cultural projects sub-granted by SouthMed CV during the past 2 years, as well as local public authorities, cultural practitioners, artists, academics, international experts in the field of culture and development, and representatives the EU and the Southern Mediterranean countries’ institutions in Jordan.

During the conference, two different panels reflecting on the culture as a vector for development in the Southern Mediterranean region with the participation of experts from the Euro-Mediterranean region will be held. Moreover, group discussions among the SouthMed CV sub-grantees, speakers and the audience on cross border cooperation to foster the emergence of citizen platforms, new models for public-private partnerships, culture as an instrument to lead changes, creative economy in the Southern Mediterranean region, among other issues, will take place.

The conference is open to the public. The registration will take place at the Royal Cultural Center on the 3rd of December, at 9 am.

During the past 2 years, SouthMed CV has launched 2 calls for applications, sub-granted 38 artistic and cultural projects in the Southern Mediterranean region, reaching 118 associations and organizations from 7 countries, and engaging thousands of cultural practitioners and audience.

Click here to download the Conference Programme.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

Photo by freshwater2006, published under Creative Commons Licence, Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0). No changes were made to the picture.

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Between the 25th of September and the 10th of October 2017, within the MADRASSA programme, a series of training sessions and residencies of contemporary curatorial practices has taken place across the MENA region: Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Jordan.

The programme was launched in 2015 by Atelier de l’Observatoire from Casablanca, and the second edition is currently being implemented by Spring Sessions from Jordan, in partnership with Atelier de l’Observatoire, ARIA – Artist Residencies in Algiers and MASS Alexandria in Egypt. It is currently implemented as a SouthMed CV sub-granted project.

The Madrassa call for participation was launched in April 2017, the results were announced in May. Ten beneficiaries were selected: young independent curators, students, cultural managers and artists from the region.

Training sessions took place between the 25 and 29 of September at École Supérieure des Beaux Arts de Casablanca. These sessions included talks about collective memory, public space, collaboration in curation and gender roles in Culture and Art. The participants also visited many cultural spaces in Rabat such as ‘Le Cube’, ‘l’Appartement 22’, etc.

The Madrassa Residencies were implemented between 1 and 10 October, simultaneously in the Atelier de l’Observatoire in Casablanca, ARIA in Algiers, MASS in Alexandria and Spring Sessions in Jordan. The residents were mentored by curators and artist from the MENA region and Europe such as: Noura Al khasawneh and Victoria Dabdoub, from Spring Sessions, Lea Morin and Mohamad Farji, founders of Atelier de l’Observatoire, Berit Schuck, curator from Berlin and based in Alexandria, and the  Kurdish artist Ahmet Ogut founder of the Silent University – a knowledge exchange platform by refugees, asylum seekers and migrants.

The main aim of this programme is to render art more accessible to all. By promoting collaborative projects and transnational exchanges, Madrassa offers a platform for experimentation to the region’s emerging curatorial talents.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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On October 13 2017, the last installation of Land Art, part of MASAR 1 took place in the city of Tamanrasset, after a five week’ journey from the capital Algiers, stopping in 5 cities along the oldest caravan route in Algeria, which connects the north and the south, with its different cultures and different realities along that route. It is for that reason, that Association Sauvons la Casbah d’Alger chose to implement MASAR 1 along this highway, to connect through artistic workshops the different communities living in cities along this route.

After a period of research, preparations, meetings with youth, artists, social and cultural workers, historians and educators, starting in February 2017; finally, the bus of MASAR 1 departed from Algiers on September 10th, aiming to travel for almost 2000 km implementing workshops in land art, photography, storyboarding and writing in 5 selected cities along the route: Laghouat, Ghardaiia, Meniaa, In Salah and Tamanrasset. In each city, the one week activities were divided between theoretical training in Land Art and Photography, and practical setting up of Land Art installations, documenting the process and results. The project has engaged 75 teenagers and 10 young artists taking part in the workshops and installations, and 5 artists that lead the workshops and mentored the participants.

Driving back to Algiers from Tamanrasset, the project team will set up an ephemeral exhibition along Route 1, made up of photographs of the installations built in the 5 cities, this exhibition is estimated to last 2 years. Moreover, MASAR 1 will produce a short documentary about this journey.

MASAR 1 is made up of a team of 7 people coordinating, communicating, documenting and organising this journey. The project intends to establish a network of cultural associations and cultural workers and artists across Algeria. The project has launched its interactive platform where information about the journey is available.

This project is sub-granted by SouthMed CV and is led by the Association ‘Sauvons La Casbah d’Alger’, in partnership with Caritas Algeria and Polygraff.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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As part of the project, Culture and Theatre against discrimination, sub-granted by SouthMed CV, The Egyptian Feminist Union, in partnership with University of Cairo and the Egyptian Ministry of Youth, conducted a three-day forum from the 6th until 8th of August 2017 in Cairo’s Al Jazeera Youth Centre. In this forum, 180 young people participated in dialogues with experts from different fields, in multidisciplinary workshops, and attending performances about gender and religious-based discrimination.

The young people registered by applying to a call opened throughout June and July, came from the youth centres of Minia and Alexandria, which are administered by the Ministry of Youth. Young students from Cairo University also attended the forum.

During the 3 days, the participants attended theatre workshops led by directors Mazen El Gharbawi, Khaled Reslan and Engy El Bestawy; a photography workshop led by photographer Mahmoud Nour; a visual arts workshop led by artist Randa Fouad; and drawing, painting and music workshops.

The youth also attended a Social Theatre performance by theatre group Portsaid’s Short Stories, addressing the issue of sexual harassment and gender stereotyping.

A press conference was held on the 7th of August, with lectures given by Dr Gaber Nassar, previous president of Cairo University, Dr Ammar Aly Hassan, renowned writer and researcher, Mrs Randa Fouad, Writer and artist, Priest Mohsen Najem, Dr. Mona Makram Ebeid, expert in Political science, and Dr Houda Badran, Chair of the Egyptian Feminist Union. During this event, the audience was engaged in a debate about topics such as discrimination, gender equality, gender violence, religious extremism and cultural taboos.

The future activities of the project include a capacity building programme for theatre groups in Egypt, for this purpose a call was launched, and the selected beneficiaries will receive a grant to make a theatre piece in which to address the topics of gender and/or religious based discrimination. The call was closed on the 25th of August.

The EFU is continuously mobilizing artists and social experts to continue coaching workshops in Cairo University, and the Youth Centres of Minia and Alexandria.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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Interarts launches a call for professionals with proven experience in the evaluation of cultural cooperation and development programmes and projects in the Southern Mediterranean region, to carry out an external evaluation of SouthMedCV – a three year’ EU co-funded project within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

The overall objective of SouthMed CV is to strengthen the work and capacities of cultural operators, practitioners of different art disciplines in the Southern Mediterranean, to give support and promote a set of innovative projects which, by means of a continuous coaching and evaluating process, are disseminated in the region.

Applicants will have to submit a written proposal according to the following terms of reference before the 4 September 2017.

Proposals must be written in English and sent to info@smedcv.net.

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On July 10th and 11th, MARSAD held its 3rd encounter in Alexandria, Egypt from a series of encounters and meetings that are taking place in the Southern Mediterranean region as part of the implementation of the project. The meeting in Egypt, brought together cultural operators and professionals from different fields from Egypt to discuss the general state of culture in the region. Presentations of Racines and El Madina Arts took place, followed by a debate about defining artistic and cultural work, then followed the presentation of a cultural cartography platform developed by Racines ‘ Art Map’, and a discussion about the Moroccan cultural practices. Finally, a presentation of MARSAD took place and a discussion about the possibilities and ways for Egyptian cultural professionals to participate and collaborate with the platform.

Before the encounter in Egypt, MARSAD had organised two other encounters, the first one was held in Tunis, Tunisia on May 15th 2017, it was attended by cultural professionals in Tunisia. During the encounter, a diagnosis of the cultural policies in Tunisia took place by looking at existing experiences and initiatives ranging between the different artistic fields, the attendees then participated in three workshops with the following topics: Cultural diversity, Cultural mapping, and Cultural practices.

The second encounter was held in Beirut, Lebanon on June 9th and 10th 2017, the programme included a cultural mapping workshop, presentation of the Moroccan cultural scene and practices, and a presentation of Racines and MARSAD. The participants were cultural professionals and activists in Lebanon who presented their initiatives and projects during the encounter.

The exchange and dialogue taking place during these encounters provide Racines with a better knowledge about the state of culture in these countries, to establish the Observatory of Cultural Policies in the Southern Mediterranean, which is the ultimate long term goal of MARSAD.

MARSAD is a project sub-granted by SouthMed CV, led by Racines Cultural association from Morocco in partnership with El Madina Arts from Egypt, Our Culture First from Tunisia and Me’zaf from Lebanon. The project is being implemented in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Lebanon.  The project aims to create a collective platform of research, monitoring and observation of cultural policies in the region, in order to ensure and advocate for its implementation vis a vis the institutions.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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Between June 11th and 14th, SouthMed CV coordination team visited Amman, Jordan, where a meeting was held between Consortium leader Interarts and Jordanian Partner NCCA- National center of culture and Arts, to plan SouthMed CV’s final conference in the region that will take place beginning of December 2017 in Amman. The event will be attended by sub-grantees from both calls that will participate in different panels, and cultural experts from the Mediterranean Region. Lectures addressing the different issues related to culture in the region will be delivered. The Conference will be open to anyone interested.

The SouthMed CV team met with the EU delegation in Jordan to present the project and future activities in Amman. This was met with high interest and support from the EU delegation. SouthMed CV team also met with the organisations leading the four Jordanian sub-granted projects of the 2nd Call, and visited their spaces:

  1. A) Tajalla and Atabet Fann, implementing the project ‘Tashbeek’, which aims to train and build the capacities of cultural workers and artists from the different regions in Jordan, and form a sustainable network to bring these people together.
  2. B) Crossroads for Media and Art, implements the project ‘Arts and crafts playground’, consisting of a space to which invite artists to work and produce art from available material that will otherwise be waste, this project also organises courses and workshops for artists and children, and it combines waste management and artistic production.
  3. C) Ma3mal 612, implementing the project ‘ANHAR’, which is a network of human rights film festivals, aiming at establishing exchanges, dialogue and support in between organisations and festivals of the Southern Mediterranean region.
  4. D) Spring Sessions, implementing the project ‘Madrassa’, between Jordan and Morocco, which is a training and residency programme for curators and cultural managers in the region of the southern Mediterranean.

The visit to Amman was enriching and successful:  a programme for the final conference was drafted, a more in depth knowledge about the cultural scene in Amman and in Jordan as well as a closer look of the sub-granted projects being implemented in Jordan were achieved, and the visit to the EU delegation was a success. More information will be soon published about the December conference on SouthMed CV webpage and social media.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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Tashbeek is one of SouthMed CV’s sub-granted projects supported under the second call. It is implemented in Jordan by Tajalla in partnership with Atabet Fann from Palestine and Ruwaq al Ordon and Medeart from Jordan. Tashbeek aims at building the capacities of cultural workers and associations in different parts of Jordan and ultimately creating a self- sustainable and collaborative network of individuals, associations and spaces by organizing artistic and cultural exchanges and dialogues throughout the different cities and areas in Jordan.

In May 2017 the project launched a call for participations. 248 applications were received from individuals working in culture, cultural associations, NGOs, and cultural departments of the governmental institutions, based in different governorates in Jordan, some of them also working in marginalized areas.

The applications are currently going through the last phase of assessment and selection. 50 applicants will be selected to participate in the capacity building programme composed of 3 sets of training sessions: technical, artistic and management training, which will take place from July until November 2017. These sessions are planned according to the needs expressed by the applicants and the requirements of the cultural scene in Jordan.

 

The main aim of this project is to create a sustainable network of cultural organisations, cultural workers and artists in Jordan to share expertise and exchange knowledge and resources, and work together on a strategic plan for the cultural scene in Jordan.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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On May 7th 2017, the official launch of the project “Theatre and culture against discrimination’’ took place in Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

This project is one of SouthMed CV’s sub-grantees of the second call; it is implemented in Cairo and led by the Egyptian Feminist Union, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth of Egypt and Cairo University. The project tackles the gender and region based discrimination in Egypt; it aims to work with youth to raise awareness about these issues and find ways to fight discrimination through theatre and artistic workshops, to ultimately produce creations that would communicate non-discriminatory ideas and concepts.

The project uses art as an advocacy tool for the development of society and an educational tool for youth.

During the launching of the project, speeches were given by Dr Houda Badran, president of the Egyptian Feminist Union, Dr Jaber Nassar, president of Cairo University, Dr Amal Jamaleddine, representative of the Ministry of Youth and Mr Sebastien Trenner, head of culture and cultural heritage at the EU Delegation in Egypt. SouthMed CV was represented in the launching by its project coordinator Mr. Toni Cots, who also gave a word during the conference.

The launching concluded in a musical performance.

The event was widely covered by the Egyptian media and press:

Sada al Balad

Al Gomhouria

Al Masri Alyawm (video)

On Live (video)

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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Between the 28th of March and the 1st of April 2017, SouthMed CV held an encounter in Tunis (Tunisia), about capacity building and mobility for the sub-granted projects of the 2nd call. It was hosted by BAC Art Centre, and organized by Interarts and BAC Art Centre.

Representatives of 20 of the sub-granted projects attended the meeting, where they had the opportunity to present their organisations as well as SouthMed CV funded projects to each other and to SouthMed CV consortium, explaining the objectives, expected results, and plan of activities. They also participated in workshops about networking and partnerships, and explored synergies between them, to collaborate and work together for the value of culture in the Southern Mediterranean region

The sub-grantees also benefited from a visit of the Ambassador of the EU in Tunisia Mr Patrice Bergamini, who gave a word during the encounter. Visits to ‘Maison de l’image, an independent space dedicated to visual arts, to Espace Sadika, a space dedicated to glass art, and to al Hamra theatre took place during the evenings.

On Friday March 31st, a public presentation of SouthMed CV and a press conference were held at the BAC Art Centre, with the presence of journalists cultural operators and artists from Tunisia. During the public presentation, Mr Bruno Montariol from the EU Delegation in Tunisia, underlined the importance of culture in the region and how, when accessible, it can lead to social, economic and political development.

The encounter was closed on the 1st of April, with final conclusions and recommendations. This encounter is a turning point in the implementation of the sub-granted projects of the 2nd call, and a setting stone for the collaboration between SouthMed CV and the sub-grantees.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

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This Mobility and Capacity Building session, an activity programmed in the framework of the SouthMed CV project, will take place in Tunis (Tunisia) from 27 March to 1 April 2017. Organised by two partners of the consortium, BAC Art Centre and Interarts, it will be the first time that the representatives of the 2nd Call 22 sub-granted projects (to be implemented in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia) will meet, present their projects and strengthen synergies for further development of culture across the Southern Mediterranean region. Capacity Building activities for implementing the sub-granted projects between February 2017 and January 2018 are also included in the programme that will take place at BAC Art Centre. SouthMed CV is co-financed by the European Union within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

Download the programme.

Photo credits: Ali Zrek

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Second callSubgrantees

We Are Here has implemented alternative creative cells for the profit of vulnerable and discriminated young people and local population, with special attention to women in both Tunisia and Palestine using Mural and Street arts. Cultural spaces were established in both Tunisia and Palestine: in Tunisia through reconstructing 10 cultural polyvalent spaces in schools and educative institutions located in the poor and marginalized interior regions, and in Palestine through establishing artistic, cultural and mural activities on the walls and in public spaces of the Old city of Ramallah, where Tunisian artists, local Palestinian artists and local community created an open-air exhibition and interactive workshops. The main objective of the project was to consolidate Street Arts as a means of work in framing public awareness and advocacy strategies to promote respect for marginalized groups and their active participation in society.

Fanni Raghman Anni Association (FRA) is a youth-driven cultural nongovernmental organisation registered in Tunis in 2013. Fanni Raghman Anni’s vision is an equal society without discrimination. FRA promotes innovative youth activism with the arts, specifically in poverty-stricken areas and marginalized neighbourhoods. The organisation is committed to raising social awareness and consciousness on human rights issues through creative and artistic expressions.  The partners in this project are the Municipality of Ramallah in Palestine, and Youth Forum for the culture of citizenship an association in Tunis, working on human rights, citizenship and promotion of culture in the interior regions.

Links:

Fanni Raghman Anni Association

Website: www.fanniraghmananni.org

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Fanni.Tn 

Ramallah Municipality

Website: www.ramallah.ps/english.aspx

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/R.Municipality

Youth Forum for the culture of citizenship

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FJCCkasserine

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Second callSubgrantees

Arts & Crafts Playground is an innovative concept that combines waste management with art making, while providing public creative space, materials/tools, guidance and visibility for both emerging and established artists alike to work on projects that otherwise would go unrealized, and to help them become self-sufficient. Arts & Crafts Playground has served as a platform and a meeting point in Jordan for artists for creative experimentation, collaboration and the sharing of ideas. It aimed to inspire and involve people in community arts while investing in, and nurturing creativity that is environmentally friendly and to empower and support individuals/activists and independent initiatives in the areas of art and culture.

The project is coordinated by Crossroad for Media Art Services, which is a non-profit organization geared towards uplifting the media standards while supporting the development of local talents, including media professionals, musicians, visual/digital artists, performers and others. In partnership with Meela, an organisation that offers training programs with trained personnel in the field of child-care, aimed at integrating children & adults with disabilities with the community; and Knowledge Step, an organization which works on inclusion of people with disabilities into society and their access to culture and arts.

Links:

Crossroad for Media Art Services

Website: www.crossroadme.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/crossroadjo/ 

Meela

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1420584388245811

Knowledge Step

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AAMTOTCO

Arts & Crafts Playground

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/artsandcraftsplaygroundjordan/

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Second callSubgrantees

Culture and Theatre against Discrimination has used different artistic fields: theatre, music, dance, and visual art, to combat the problem of discrimination, based on gender and religion in Egypt. It has provided for training and workshops to youth groups from Cairo University and from The Ministry of Youth through which they developed their artistic skills and their awareness about the problem of discrimination.

During the project, young artists have produced different artworks in the diverse fields taking the problem of discrimination as a subject. These artworks and performances have been accessible to a wide range of audience, initiating public dialogue and advocating a campaign for change

Communicating new non-discriminatory values can strengthen relationships between different groups of the community and hence accelerate its development. Through participation in the different parts of the project, the staff of the University, the Ministries and the EFU have developed their capacities to use art as an dvocacy and as an education tool.

The project is led by the Egyptian Feminist Union, an NGO based in Egypt which aims to create a societal atmosphere based on equality, social justice and human dignity for all citizens, particularly women which face discrimination. The partners in this project are the Cairo University and the Egyptian Ministry of Youth.

Links:

Egyptian Feminist Union

Website: www.efuegypt.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/EgyptianFeministUnion/

Ministry of Youth

Website: http://youth.gov.eg/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/EGMoYouth/ 

Cairo University

Website: https://cu.edu.eg/ar/Home

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CairoUniversity/

Mohamad Zock
Second callSubgrantees

Our City Our Way aimed to empower 30 youths from El Mina city by building their capacities in urban design, cartography, model making, and proposal writing. The goal was to allow 30 trained youths to directly lead the design of a specific landscape project aligned with the model of a child friendly city. The implementation of the project was executed in a specific neighbourhood in El Mina, Tripoli.

The Safadi Cultural Foundation is a hub of cultural initiatives and activities. Its main role consists in creating opportunities and possibilities for cultural work to develop. Safadi Cultural Foundation works on this project in partnership with Beirut Arab University which has been involved in the social and cultural movement in the city, and El Mina Municipality which aims to develop the economic, social, urban and cultural sectors of the city.

Links:

Safadi Cultural Foundation

Website: http://safadiculturalcenter.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/SafadiCulturalFoundation

Beirut Arab University

Website: www.bau.edu.lb/Home

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BeirutArabUniv/

El Mina Municipality

Website: www.elmina-online.com/English/e-default.htm

Photo Credit: Mohamad Zock

Peter Pan Photo
Second callSubgrantees

Youth for Change was a project aiming at breaking cultural isolation between Jenin, Palestine, and the rest of the Arab world. It intended to build the capacities of Palestinian youth in circus, drama and street theatre, and to create and present high quality artistic works for Palestinian audiences, by strengthening the partnerships within the Palestinian cultural sector and the larger Palestinian community.

It has been achieved through training youth in combined drama and circus workshops to create a street theatre performance built on their own stories. The project has targeted neglected areas in Palestine, and has offered the opportunity for 10 Palestinian participants to travel, perform, and give training in combined circus and drama sessions for women and children in Casablanca, Morocco. The main activities of the project included: training courses and workshops; the creation of street theatre performances; touring in the West Bank; and mobility and exchange of artists between Palestine and Morocco.

Fragments Theatre is a cultural organisation, founded in Jenin, by a group of actors, filmmakers and technicians. The Fragments Theatre gives young people the opportunity to express themselves using theatre, film, circus and arts in Jenin and the surrounding areas. Over the last few years, several activities with children and youth, have been implemented different theatre plays, short films and puppet workshops.

The project has strengthened the dialogue, brought opportunities for exchange, by developing a creative partnership between Fragments Theatre, the Lama Brother’s Theatre in Palestine and Théâtre de l’Opprimé from Casablanca in Morocco, this is theatre company which places art at the core of its activities, representing the social and civic life of Moroccan citizens and trying to preserve the Moroccan identity and its cultural heritage.

Links:

Fragments Theatre

Website: www.fragmentstheatre.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/%D9%85%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7-Fragments-Theatre-761024173945848/

Théâtre de l’Opprimé

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Masra7Lme7gour/

02-01068 (5)
Second callSubgrantees

MED DEMOS/PACE LAB responds to the needs of civil society, cultural and social institutions/NGOs as well as marginalized communities in Kairouan, Tunisia, to ensure equal access to public space. The project aims to foster social inclusion and boost public participation by creating sustainable links between artistic and social focused actors on local level and engaging young architects in practical artistic mission with social objectives. The project includes a charette which will engage architects, community groups and key operators, with the aim to produce an urban plan for the public space in Kairouan, a Live Lab Design and a Do Workshop: workshop will be implemented as a pool of education for young architects, and as a pretext to promote the inclusiveness of the public space. A cultural management workshop, a conference and the creation of an art work in a public space, will be implemented as well.

Kairouan Community was established in 2014 as a grass-root coalition/community type CSO/NGO. The main goals of the organisation are sustainable environmental, social and economic development in Tunisia, an the activation of disadvantageous and marginalized areas and vulnerable groups and communities. This project is a partnership between Kairouan community, Ecole National d´Architecture et d´Urbanisme in Tunis and Ecole d´Architecture de Casablanca.

Links:

Kairouan Community

Website: www.fixkairouan.org

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FixKairouan-592730647516385/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/empoweringDisadvantagedgroups

Concours des Jeunes Talents Tanjazz
Second callSubgrantees

The global objective of this project is to support the durability of a permanent cultural cluster aimed at helping young citizens in the development of their artistic and cultural expression through innovative professionalization practices.

Two different components are implemented in the action of the project, to promote young talent in their professionalization:

  • “Concours Jeunes Talents”: an artistic event that opened the stage for 150 young musicians of different backgrounds, seeking a place of expression and dissemination of their arts.
  • Access to a professional training programme for a selected group of the first component for the building their capacities in different fields: artistic, managerial, technical…

Our actions are oriented also to turn public spaces into a place of free artistic expression for the young people of our urban community and into a convergence to create intergenerational and intercultural mix in the Moroccan society.

Concours des Jeunes Talents Tanjazz  is led by Tangiers based association Tabadoul: a versatile cultural platform that welcomes musicians looking to present their work or wishing to settle in residency while developing new artistic creations.

The partners in this project are:

  • Lorin Foundation is based in Tangiers, and works in the field of transmission of culture and arts, with a specific attention to children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Their main projects are the Festival of Tanjazz (10 editions), and the creation of the theatre company “Comedy of Tangier”.
  • Visa for Music (VFM), based in Rabat, is the first professional music market of Africa and Middle-East. The project was born due to the lack of visibility for African and Middle-Eastern artists at an international level, and the presence of a very important artistic dynamism and musical creation in the region.

Links

Tabadoul

Website: http://www.tabadoul.org/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tabadoul.tanger

Lorin Foundation

Website: http://tangier.free.fr/Documents/Fondation-Lorin.htm

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fondation-Lorin/1045140965552953

Visa for Music

Website: http://visaformusic.com/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/visaformusic

Tanjil Festival:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/concours.tanjil/

think tanger 2
Second callSubgrantees

Tangiers is witnessing a massive urban change, experiencing both significant economic growth and unprecedented evolution of the artistic and cultural scene led by local initiatives coming from artists and cultural programmers. Proposal for a Metropole aimed to work alongside with this local momentum, to build up a creative answer to respond to the major socio-cultural and urban challenges faced by the city due to its mutation, taking into consideration the role of art and culture in its development and urbanization processes.

In order to (re)integrate art and culture in the process of urbanization and development of a city, throughout a one year laboratory based on research and production residencies, the project has brought together artists with city institutions to respond to the major social, cultural and urban challenges faced by Tangiers. The institutions with which the artists worked with are: schools, urban agencies and the local media. Each residency has hosted working sessions with professionals from the different sectors, public open studios/conferences, and master classes. The projects resulting from the residencies were presented to the city council and the city districts as examples for creative approaches to the urban development issues and problems that Tangiers is facing today.

Dabateatr is a multidisciplinary art company initiated by a group of artists from different geographical regions and various artistic disciplines, to promote knowledge and education about “The Citizen Cultural, Artistic and Freedom Action”. Building bridges between people, disciplines and cultures. Works with emerging artists and projects by offering them a regular capacity building program, in project management.

Proposal for a Metropole is a project coordinated by Think Tanger, which started in 2016 as a project and is now a platform implementing each year different cultural projects based on artistic work and Tangiers’ urban development.

 

Links:

Dabateatr

Website: http://dabateatr.org/

Think Tanger

Website: http://www.think-tanger.com/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/thinktanger/

MHR programmation

Linkedin: https://ma.linkedin.com/in/mary-rahma-homman-6b33307

masar-1
Second callSubgrantees

Masar 1 was an itinerant Land Art and photography project taking place all along the Trans-Saharan road 1 of Algeria.

A series of workshops have engaged Algerians youngsters living in the main cities along the road and active in local associations. This very old road was used by the caravans for 2000 years to exchange food, textiles and all kind of merchandise. It is a link between the Northern Africa and the Sub-Saharan region and its people.

The Land Art actions aimed at creating a dialogue between the natural materials found along this road (mineral, organic and recovered materials) and the stories told by teenagers about the road, whether historical or mythical ones. The photography action aims to be a medium to express these stories using the narrative power of images.

The workshops taken place throughout the 1900 Km long axis aimed to connect different social, geographical and historical realities of Algeria. Associations and youth have linked to several partners and stakeholders from the different regions. The project’s final results were an exhibition all along the road of 75 printed photographs 2m X 2m size.

The project was implemented in 6 main cities along this road: Algiers, Laghouat, Ghardaïa, El Meniaa, In Salah and Tamanrasset.

Masar 1 is led by Association algérienne des amis de la casbah “Sauvons la casbah”, an association with cultural and social vocation, based in Algiers, campaigning for the preservation of cultural heritage in danger. In partnership with Caritas Algiers and in collaboration with Polygraff, based in France.

Links :

Association algérienne des amis de la casbah “Sauvons la casbah”

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AssociationDesAmisDeLaCasbahSauvonsLaCasbahDAlger

Masar 1

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/masar1algerie

02-01132 (4)
Second callSubgrantees

Sustainable Local Planning – Locality of Thibar, was a project aiming mainly at reconciling Thibar’s territory with sustainable development by enhancing community’s life conditions, promoting economic growth, and preserving its natural resources as well as cultural heritage. By adopting a participatory approach, the project helped for civil society as well as public stakeholders, to enhance and adopt good practices, in matter of decentralization and good governance. The project has highlighted the competences of landscape architects and engineers enlarging their horizons and those of decision makers.

The social survey to assess the vision and the needs of the community, the different workshops to open a dialogue between different stakeholders, and the elaboration of the sustainable urban plan were the most important activities of the project.

TALAE is a professional association aiming to promote landscape architecture in Tunisia through 4 working areas:

  • Landscape architecture and collective memory
  • Landscape architecture and environment
  • Landscape architecture and development

Landscape architecture and society

Links:

TALAE Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Talae.Tunisia/

Association of civil society of Thibar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ASSOCI2THIBAR/

Photo Credit: Fatma Triki

Mapping work (cropped)
Second callSubgrantees

The Youth Engagement Index was a collaborative research project developed to analyse in a consensual manner the participation of young people in their city’s affairs on three main levels: economic, political-institutional and civic-cultural. The project model was initiated by URBEGO, a professional youth planning platform. It has been adapted and developed to the local context of Beirut (Lebanon) by the following partner organizations: NAHNOO, Architects for Change, LOYAC and URBEGO.

The project has focused on how the city enables for young people to live in Beirut, their connections with urban communities, the value of their participation, and the role of policy makers in engaging them.

This initiative has engaged youth in policy making discussions from different perspectives (civic-cultural, political-institutional, and economical), to reinforce the public awareness, opening dialogue on the role of youth’s participation & engagement in the liveability of the city.

NAHNOO is a Lebanese youth-led NGO based in Beirut, Lebanon. The organization holds non-partisan and non-sectarian core values and works towards the encouragement and support of youth in Lebanon. It aspires to provide a platform for young Lebanese to engage in activities that promote self-development and self-expression and gain the skills necessary to contribute to their communities meaningfully and peacefully, on four key topics: advocacy to reclaim public spaces, democratic governance and citizen participation in local decision-making, youth empowerment and cultural exchange. NAHNOO believes that building inclusive cities is the key to enhance social cohesion in a society.

Links:

NAHNOO

Website: http://nahnoo.org/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nahnoo.org/

Architects for Change

Website: https://issuu.com/architectsforchange

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/archforchange/

LOYAC Lebanon

Website: https://www.loyac.org/lebanon/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LoYAC.Lebanon

URBEGO

Website: https://issuu.com/urbego/docs/yei_publication__3_

https://www.urbego.org/yei

small-screens
Second callSubgrantees

The lack of cultural spaces and cinema halls is a problem in Regueb Sidi Bouzid governorate, as well as in many other governorates of Tunisia. Small Screens aimed to facilitate access to cinema for children and youth from small towns that do not have the opportunity to discover cinema and learn about it.

The project aimed at spreading awareness amongst youth about their rights to access culture, and give children the opportunity to appreciate artistic works and cultural activities based on social and human rights themes (social life, family life, citizenship, peace, right to education, right to culture…)

The project reached 8 schools in the Regueb delegation, where movie screening followed by debates took place, teachers received training in culture and cinema, 8 school cinema clubs were created, and 8 short movies were produced (one in each school) with the active participation of the students and teachers.

Small Screens is implemented by Association Tunisienne d´Action Culturelle – ATAC, operating mainly in the delegation of Regueb in Sidi Bouzid in the cultural and social fields as well as in development and human rights. ATAC has partnered with Cinéma Itinérant Roadmovie – CIR, a non-profit organization promoting cinematographic culture in Tunisia, making cinema accessible in marginalized communities, and with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Ministry of Education of Tunisia.

Links:

ATAC

Website: http://atac.tn/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/atac.association

Cinéma Itinérant Roadmovie – CIR

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cir.tunisie/

02-02062
Second callSubgrantees

Madrassa is a program of curatorial research and practice in contemporary art, and one of the first of its kind in the region. It strives to educate and connect a community of young arts professionals offering them training and networking opportunities. Through a call for applications, Madrassa invited young curators and cultural practitioners from North Africa and the Middle East to participate in a programme based independent curatorial practices, that look beyond the existing modes of production and dynamics of the global art world. It explored socially engaged visual arts practices, promoted collaborative projects and transnational exchanges, offering a platform for experimentation to the region’s emerging curatorial talents. The Madrassa program was launched in 2015 by l’Atelier de l’Observatoire (art and research) in Casablanca.

Madrassa has been implemented in this occasion between Amman, Casablanca, Alexandria and Algiers, consisting on a series of talks, visits and workshops in each city, and enable the participants to put their acquired knowledge and training into practice by curating a project in each city.

Spring Sessions is an experiential learning programme and arts residency based in Amman, Jordan. The programme brings together emerging and established cultural practitioners to produce work and share results. The purpose is to encourage participants to question existing paradigms by experimenting outside of traditional models.

Spring Sessions

Website: https://thespringsessions.com/

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/thespringsessions/

Atelier de l’Observatoire

Website: http://www.atelierobservatoire.com/madrassa

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AtelierObservatoire

Mass Alexandria

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MASSAlexandriaSpace

ARIA

Website: http://ariaprojects.org/?page_id=1600

02-02115
Second callSubgrantees

Tashbeek was a collaboration and networking project between cultural centres across Jordan. The main objectives were to empower at least 50 cultural activists in seven cultural centres across Jordan in the development, culture and arts fields; to enhance collaboration and cooperation among cultural centres in Jordan to establish an independent sustainable network, and to place a strategic plan for cultural centres which are members of the network based on their resources; and to achieve sustainability by sharing their resources as an alternative to funding.

The project was led by Tajalla for Music and Arts, an artistic cultural association, seeking to bridge the gap between society and culture & art. Tajalla believes that culture and art should be priorities in society, as they are a mean for self-expression, and human development, in giving public access to art and culture, in collaboration with artists and cultural institutions and to contribute to social development. Tajalla implemented the project in partnership with Atabet Fann for Arts, Media and Training, that works at regional level, and seeks to enable youth and children by using art, media and culture as tools for development; and Ruwaq El Ordon for Culture and Art, based in Balqaa, Jordan, focusing on cultural community interests and development through culture arts, conducting several activities and variety of events to serve the governorate of Balqaa. In collaboration with MedeArts, based in Irbid, Jordan, which aims to energize and improve culture and arts in underprivileged areas.

Links

Tajalla for Music and Arts

Website: http://tajalla.com/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tajallaorg

Atabet Fann for Arts, Media and Training

Website: www.atabetFann.org

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AtabetFann

MedeArts

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MEDEARTS

02-02128(6)
Second callSubgrantees

Perform: Performing Arts Consultancy Office aimed to meet the needs of performing arts groups, individual arts managers, organisations and/or initiatives in order to assist and support them to implement their visions, build sustainable practices through providing consultancy and administrative assistance, and offer an effective mix of training and cultural exchange programme to support the development of their artistic work. The project also aimed at increasing access to performing arts through audience building, and assisting at fund rising for strategic events in partnership with cultural organizations.

Reflection for Arts, Training and Development is a non-governmental and not for profit cultural civil society organisation which seeks to enhance the cultural life of Alexandria’s residents and visitors by promoting its cultural heritage in a contemporary framework, and the multiplicity and diversity of its cultural resources. It aims to achieve that through by providing means of support for artists to enhance their work and to facilitate their practices; by cooperating with other organisations, in the coordination of a diversity of cultural and artistic initiatives and projects.

The partners in this project are Torraha Art and Society, which works on development through arts, crafts and culture, creating exchanges and networking opportunities between different remote areas in Egypt with focus on women and children, and Raseef, a youth initiative, whose main aim is for emerging and independent artists to reach an audience, and to present their artistic productions as being part of sustainable culture at recycled and transformed public spaces.

Links:

Reflection for Arts, Training and Development

Website: http://www.reflectionart.org/EN/Welcome.html 

Torraha Art and Society

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/torraha

Raseef Youth Initiative

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/raseef.project/

PerForm

Website: www.perform-arts.net/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/PerFormConsultancy/posts/?ref=page_internal

Kibrit 3
Second callSubgrantees

KIBRIT (كبريت) is a collaborative research and production programme dedicated to contemporary artistic and curatorial practices engaged in processes of reactivation of cultural heritage and collective memory (architecture, radio and sound archives, cinema, photography). Curated and implemented by a network of independent art spaces and initiatives based in North Africa and Middle East, KIBRIT embodies the willingness of its partners to build sustainable synergies, and to exchange cultural practices, ideas and activities engaged in the social fabric.

To reach these objectives, KIBRIT has implemented in 2017:

  • A series of collaborative research projects to reactivate specific physical or ephemeral sites of cultural heritage in each of the partners’ locations: led by the local partner, each project proactively involves the others endorsing a methodology based on mutual enrichment through exchange of skills, knowledge and practices, while engaging local communities, researchers and artists to concur onto the reactivation process enacted. A final, major event, in the form of a publication and an exhibition, took place between November and December;
  • A series of punctual meetings and events in Algiers, Tunis, Casablanca, Marrakech, Ramallah and Barcelona. Through public programmes, workshops, artistic interventions, trainings, research sessions, public presentations and networking, these meetings involved KIBRIT’s partners and local communities in the reactivation process of local cultural heritage;

The development of the KIBRIT online research and visibility platform: this platform it is a key tool to support and give visibility to each project and the activities. Secondly, it is a space for critical reflection on how contemporary artistic and curatorial practices engage in processes of reactivation of cultural heritage and collective memory in the region; and finally gathers the researches and cartographies on this topic.

Links:

Le 18

Website: www.le18.weebly.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/le18marrakech/

Atelier de l’Observatoire

Website: www.atelierobservatoire.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/AtelierObservatoire/

Maison de l’Image

Website: http://maisonimage.tn/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maisonimagetn/

Ramallah Municipality

Website: http://www.ramallah.ps/english.aspx

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/R.Municipality/

Rhizome

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Rhizome-1503325383025017/

CeRCCa Centre de Recerca i Creacio Casamarles

Website: https://cercca.com

JISER Reflexions Mediterrànies

Website: www.jiser.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/JISERArts/

KIBRIT

Website: http://kibrit.org/en/about.html

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Kibrit-983630971771456/

IMG_8840 (1)
Second callSubgrantees

ANHAR – The Arab Network for Human Rights Film Festivals is a regional project with a pool of information, and a film database for human right film festivals and screenings in the Arab region. It is a networking platform that operates on the basis of partnerships and exchanges of expertise between its members.

The network was established in December of 2015 and has 9 members from Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Mauritania, Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan and Syria. It aims at establishing a connection between activists, filmmakers, festival directors and spaces for screening human rights films to build bridges through joint events, co-productions and advocacy campaigns. The collective experience of its members helps enhance the quality, impact and outreach of its initiatives.

Ma3mal 612 Think Factory is a collaborative pool based in Amman, of thinkers and workers from different backgrounds and disciplines who design innovative projects on thematic topics that are considered as a priority for the region. The word Al Ma’mal means the ‘factory’. It is designed to produce and enhance the production of films, documentaries, video art, installations, film networks and other visual and artistic projects that have an avant-garde nature, aiming to generate a change in the civil society in the region.

Links:

MA3mal 612 Think Factory Jordan:

Website: http://www.ma3mal612.com/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Ma3mal612/

Ma3mal 961 Think Factory Lebanon

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ma3mal961/

SEMAT

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pg/SematEgypt/about/

ACTIF

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Human.Screen.Festival/

ANHAR

Website: http://www.arabfilmnetwork.com/

 

inkylab
Second callSubgrantees

Since its establishment, Maison de l’Image works in synergy with a network of collaborators, public and private institutions and associations focusing on the visual arts in Tunisia and abroad. The association has organized a series of workshops, exhibitions and meetings for artists and creative organisations and individuals from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.

After becoming well established, a partnership with 2 cultural organisms from the MENA region: Brokk’Art from Algeria and L’Uzine from Morocco, was agreed. Maison de l’Image decided to create Inkylab – a publishing platform, a collaborative print space and a network, aiming to create accessible tools and a networking context to enhance the exposure of talented creative illustrators, and artistic collectives based in the MENA region. Inkylab has constituted a platform for new questions, images, and ideas, to blur geographic and social boundaries, and to open new frontiers for cultural and creative innovation. Through publishing, educational, and curatorial activities, Inkylab gathers artists who seek to create, engage, and communicate topics and issues concerning self-publishing and lead them towards collaboration. The final event in Tunisia as part of the ‘Salon   International de la Bande Dessinée de Tazarka (SIBDT)’, August 2018, will be an ideal opportunity for Inkylab to showcase the work of the talented artists, collective illustrators and artistic based in the MENA region.

Links:

Maison de l’Image

Website: http://www.maisonimage.tn

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maisonimage

Brokk’Art

Website: http://www.brokk-art.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/BROKKART-327166565525/

L’Uzine

Website: http://luzine.ma/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/uzine7/

Inkylab

Facebook: www.facebook.com/inkylabtn/

0203092
Second callSubgrantees

This project aimed at creating an Arab comics network for comic artists in the region, to collaborate and share their creations internationally. Arab Comics as Educational Tool aimed to promote the use of comics as an educational and social tool in the community, and share possible sources to finance this kind of projects. It also seeked to build the capacities of different partners through shared experiences and practices, strengthen the abilities of Arab Artists in comics to work as a network, and spread the Arab comic internationally, making it accessible to larger audiences. To reach these objectives, a platform has been established that supports the work of the artists in the region, producing and distributing comics about social issues, artistic exchanges between Palestine, Egypt and Morocco, the translation of comics to English, French and Spanish to make comics accessible to international audience, and by implementing exhibitions to showcase the work of the comic artists involved.

The project is led by Tamer Institute, an association based in Jerusalem, focusing mainly on the rights to education, identity, freedom of expression and access to knowledge. Tamer institute works across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, primarily targeting children and young artists, and developing alternative means to formal education.

Links:

Tamer Institute

Website: http://tamerinst.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TamerInstitute/

Koshk Comics

Website: www.koshkcomics.com/s/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KoshkComics/

Khalil Al Sakakini Cultural Center

Website: http://www.sakakini.org/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KhalilSakakiniCenter/

SkefKef magazine

Website: http://skefkef.ma/

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/skefkefmag/about/?ref=page_internal

Kawkab Al Rasameen

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kawkabElRasameen/

02-03098(2)
Second callSubgrantees

Through a strong network of dance organizations, MEEM aimed to develop and establish a platform for exchange and a solid soil for contemporary dance in the South Mediterranean region. The partnering organizations have worked on building capacities and generating sustainable artistic collaborations based on theoretical and practical activities and practices related to the contexts of their countries and needs.

Throughout the full programme of activities, 24 young and emerging artists from 10 different countries have been directly involved. 18 international presenters, in addition to representatives from a number of different cultural organisations have taken part in the activities, and by doing so have become familiar with both the work and the conditions of the artists working in the region.

The project is led by Maqamat Dance Theatre, an international dance company founded in 2002 and based in Beirut. In a short period of time, the company has been able to emerge as a central organization in the creation and development of contemporary dance in Lebanon and the Arab region. It is considered today as the founder of a Lebanese Contemporary Dance Scene.

Links:

Maqamat Dance Theatre

Website: https://www.maqamat.org/

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/maqamat/

Sareyyet Ramallah

Website: www.sareyyet.ps/

Tanween

Website: http://www.tanween.de/?page_id=120

CIE Nacera Belaza

Website: www.cie-nacerabelaza.com/

CIE Chatha

Website: www.chatha.org/

marsad
Second callSubgrantees

MARSAD – Mediterranean Action and Research for Sustainability and Development aimed to create a collective platform of research, implementation, monitoring and observation of cultural policies in the region, in order to ensure an efficient advocacy of the institutions. The platform plans to grow and include more partners to become a reference in the South Med region.

MARSAD has set-up research and diagnosis on cultural policies in the partners’ countries (education, training, diversity, governance, production), to share expertise between partners, to strengthen the network of cultural operators in the region, and to set-up a common platform providing data & information about cultural policies in the region. In the long-term, the goal is to establish a regional Observatory for Cultural Policies providing data, research, studies and recommendations on cultural policies in the region in order to advocate for and strengthen the capacities of cultural actors, to implement cultural policies that are useful for the population, and sustainable for artists in their respective countries. 

Racines is a Moroccan non-profit organisation advocating for the integration of culture into public, human, social and economic policies. Racines is born from the desire of Moroccan cultural actors, convinced that the issue of culture is common to African countries (weakness of cultural policies, lack of involvement of the States, non-recognition of culture as a human right, weak creative industries, lack of protecting artists’ rights, lack of training in cultural jobs…). Racines’ projects are articulated around cultural policies (research, advocacy, mapping), arts and culture for social change, entrepreneurship, cultural management training, artistic freedom, artists’ rights and status.

MARSAD is a project lead by Racines and developed in partnership with:

  • Our Culture First,an association based in Tunis, Tunisia, works on promoting cultural initiatives at national and local level, through capacity development approaches and a national exchange platform.
  • El Madina for Performing and Digital Arts, based in Alexandria, Egypt, develops projects through training, production, and management of culture spaces.
  • Me’Zaf, based in Beirut, Lebanon, is a musical cultural initiative whose main focus is the authentic music of the Levant. By implementing research projects and musical activities intends to reintegrate this music in our current scene, as a contemporary creation tool.

Links:

Racines

Website: www.racines.ma

Website: www.artmap.ma

Website: www.pratiquesculturelles.ma 

Facebook pages:

hwww.facebook.com/RacinesMaroc/

www.facebook.com/LaCultureEstLaSolution

Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/107702075957633

Me’Zaf

Website: www.mezaf.org

Our Culture First 

Website: www.oct.org.tn

El Madina for Performing and Digital Arts 

Website: www.elmadinaarts.com

MASARD

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Marsad2017/

second-call-results
News

Following the close of the 2nd call on October 26th, the SouthMed CV evaluation commission has evaluated the 160 applications received from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisa, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon. The last evaluation session took place during the SouthMed CV partners’ and MedCulture meeting in Amman from 6 to 9 December.

The evaluation results are herewith published:

  1. Of the 160 submitted applications, 56 project proposals were assessed as not eligible since they did not comply with the call guidelines and/or budget requirements.
  2. 104 submitted applications were assessed as eligible and were graded according to the evaluation criteria: 46 of these project proposals scored a mark under the threshhold of 75/100 and, consequently, were not selected; 58 of these submitted applications scored a mark equal or higher than 75/100, and were admitted to the final phase of the evaluation, of which, 29 project proposals were not awarded.
  3. In compliance with the evaluation criteria and the 1.000.000€ financial provison for the 2nd call, 22 project proposals have been selected for the award of a grant.
  4. A further 7 proposals have been included in a reserve list: projects in this reserve list might eventually be awarded a grant, ONLY if any of the 22 grantees is not able to sign the contract and/or implement the awarded project within three months following the publication and communication of the results.

SouthMed CV reserves the right not to award all available funds if the grantees are not capable of implementing their projects according to the selection criteria and the 2nd Call Guidelines.

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

dci
News

To bring more awareness to Palestinian children about their rights, specifically when it comes to school violence, violence faced at checkpoints, and the rights of children with disabilities regarding the accessibility to school and education is the aim of ´´Children´s voices heard through art´´, a project led by DCI Palestine in partnership with Yafa cultural center and Al Harah theatre.

The project started in March and ended in September 2016, during this period, many activities took place, such as training sessions on child rights and child rights violations and how to report these violations when they happen at school or anywhere else. Children protection teams were formed in 11 governorates in the West Bank, these teams received two extensive workshops about child rights, communication skills, and art and innovation practices.

In the course of the project, a theatrical production about school violence was produced under the supervision of Al Harah Theatre, this production was performed in a marginalized village called ´´Heta´´ during the Palestinian child week that took place in different cities in the West Bank in April, the program also included art workshops, puppet shows, dance performances, as well as psychological support and awareness meeting activities.

During the course of the project, 18 young teenagers from the protection teams, alongside with 118 adults from different associations, participated in the production of a final publication, about the types of violence that children in Palestine face, whether at school, at home or in the street. This report was based on a series of interviews done by the children that participated, with younger children that were exposed to this kind of violation of rights. The end result shows that Palestinian children are facing violence at school, and in most of their cases interviewed, the children had faced some kind of violations from the Israeli army side.

By participating in this project, children had the possibility to share their stories and experiences, to express their opinion about what needs to be done, and mostly to express themselves and their feelings through art. Most importantly, their voice was heard, through the election of child councils in each governorate, and these child councils met with decision makers, governors, and actors from the civil society and from various associations and expressed their needs and priorities.

Southmed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.

chefchaouen
News

´´Participatory research and artistic divulgation of Intangible Cultural Heritage associated to Chefchaouen Mediterranean Diet´´ project aims to research and recover Chaouen´s traditions related to food and way of life, and to encourage and bring awareness about the importance of intergenerational exchange and transmission of knowledge related to culinary and linguistic traditions.

The project started out with training activities for 17 young people that study or work in the field of sociology, geography and philosophy, about territory and Mediterranean diet, investigation and data collection, and communication skills. From this training, a group of 7 researchers was selected to conduct interviews in Chaouen, with elderly people about the Mediterranean diet and traditions in this area. 150 people were interviewed and the audiovisual and written information gathered from these interviews was assigned to the heritage documentation centre of the City of Chefchaouen and will be available for anyone interested.

In addition to the research, 3 workshops for children has taken place, in theatre and storytelling, in painting, and in traditional ceramics which was given by an elderly woman from Chefchaouen, which was an intergenerational transmission experience.

The final product of this project is a book that will be published in Arabic and in Spanish (being the 2nd language of the region) about traditional crafts work, recipes, ways of agricultures, lighting, storytelling, and many more traditions from the Chaouen region, from the information gathered throughout the research.

´´Participatory research and artistic divulgation of Intangible Cultural Heritage associated to Chefchaouen Mediterranean Diet´´ project is led by Association TALASSEMTANE pour l’Environnement et le Développement (ATED) in partnership with diversité et development and the Municipality of Chefchaouen.

 

SouthMed CV is co-funded by the EU within the framework of the regional programme Med Culture.