By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - Young people in Jordan are losing interest in their national culture as they are more affected by regional or tribal affiliations, intellectuals said on Sunday.
"Around two million of the population are under the age of 25. In a few years, they could be leaders who will take part in drawing up the Kingdom's policies, yet their cultural background is almost nonexistent," former culture minister Samir Habashneh said yesterday at a conference organised by the Culture Ministry.
The one-day event was held to discuss the ministry's 2009-2011 plan which is expected to be endorsed next week to develop and boost the cultural sector in the Kingdom.
Habashneh said one can hardly find a school or a college student who is interested in reading a book or attending cultural seminars, calling for finding a new approach to encourage dialogue and communication with young people in order to enrich their cultural knowledge.
"We need to adopt a comprehensive national and cultural approach, away from the political dimension and regional problems. The government should focus on a new mechanism capable of making the younger generation more interested in culture rather than being involved in tribal or regional affiliations," he added, suggesting more cooperation between the ministries of education, culture and higher education to introduce extracurricular activities in schools and universities where students can interact.
President of the Jordan Artists Association Shaher Hadid laid part of the blame on the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTV), which was not represented in the meeting, for its lack of support for local drama series.
"The JRTV policy prohibits production companies from mentioning the names of Jordanian cities or villages in these TV series although they are based on local community life," he said.
Several meetings preceded yesterday's conference, with the participation of representatives from the public and private sectors as well as civil society institutions, during which stakeholders discussed challenges facing the sector and recommendations to ensure that the cultural movement thrives in the Kingdom.
Culture Minister Nancy Bakir, who opened the discussions, said participants presented around 200 suggestions, all focused on obstacles hindering the development of culture.
"Most of these recommendations will be taken into consideration when finalising the three-year plan," Bakir said at the conference, which brought together former culture ministers, MPs, authors and representatives from the women’s sector and universities.
During previous meetings, participants discussed the pros and cons of the ministry's 2008 cultural plan, as well as cultural entities in the country, putting forward suggestions on how they can play a more effective role in boosting the sector, Bakir said, adding that they also focused on the cultural support fund and means to support intellectual creativity.
Meanwhile, Culture Ministry Secretary General Jeryes Samawi noted that it was important that culture contributes to the country's economic development.
"The ministry has partnered with the private sector in decentralising the organisation of cultural activities in other governorates rather than focusing on the capital," Samawi said, adding that this led to more people in remote areas benefiting from cultural activities.
Many speakers at yesterday’s meeting highlighted the presence of multiple authorities involved in the cultural sector, calling for in-depth meetings between all stakeholders to unify efforts to develop the sector.
Others stressed the importance of documenting all cultural activities held in the Kingdom to serve as a reference and a reliable source of information for researchers, intellectuals and university students.
