I first heard about the World Culture Forum last May, when I was discussing the World Economic Forum being held in the Dead Sea with one of the most exposed and open people I know. She told me that the World Culture Forum was held for the first time in Brazil in July of 2004, as an attempt to put culture ahead of commerce and trade as a priority in this age of globalization. “Breaking with a concept of development based purely on economic principles”.
Now I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the 2nd World Culture Forum is taking place in the Dead Sea – it was originally scheduled for September 4th, to coincide with the Souk Ukaz Cultural Marketplace, but has been postponed to November (I tried to research the reasons but didn't find anything yet, could it be Aqaba??)
At first glance it felt a bit ironic for the World Culture Forum to be held in a place that has become a regular host for the World Economic Forum!! Sometimes I have very mixed feelings about the effects of Globalization on my Jordan; on one hand I feel excited about all the new investments and the recognition Jordan is getting from foreign countries and companies, and all the new opportunities out there now that didn’t exist five years ago! But then on the other hand, I feel very worried sometimes at how fake some of this is, I wonder to what extent the average middle-class Jordanian gets to benefit from what is happening, I see how Amman is so very different from the rest of the country… and I feel frustrated!!!
Let me tell you though, I believe Jordan is in transition, and I believe that transition is marked by a lot of uncertainties, and a lot of contradictions!! I think there is soooo much potential in this country, and I choose to be optimistic and positive about the future.
Ok I don’t know how this post drifted to this ;) I only set out to say that I’m happy and excited about the WCF taking place in the Dead Sea with so many experts and international figures coming in, and with such wonderfully gripping and important topics to be addressed… yet it takes very little to get me going when the talk taps into the future of Jordan! I don’t want to discuss capitalism right now, and I don’t want to give my opinion on conspiracy theories, and I don’t want to respond to cynics! It’s 3:00 AM right now, and even with a second cup of coffee in a row, I don’t know if I can trust my brain cells to see the task through ;)
Preserving culture, maintaining unique character, and the entire creative process are all issues dear to my heart… and this forum is going to delve through topics like theatre, dance, religion and culture, cultural branding of nations, arts in education... to list a few examples. It will also be accompanied by artistic events every night in places like Petra, Jerash, the Amman Umayyad Palace, and the Temple of Hercules.
Quoting from the WCF website:
“The state of art and culture in the early 21st century clearly bears the marks of globalism and the market, displaying a dramatic erosion of cultural memory and a decline of cultural diversity, that makes the whole of mankind poorer every day. It is paramount among the goals of the WCFA to form the vision of a world in which the role of culture is widely recognized as vital to human, social and economic development and where culture is given a priority before trade on the international agenda.”
Now I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the 2nd World Culture Forum is taking place in the Dead Sea – it was originally scheduled for September 4th, to coincide with the Souk Ukaz Cultural Marketplace, but has been postponed to November (I tried to research the reasons but didn't find anything yet, could it be Aqaba??)
At first glance it felt a bit ironic for the World Culture Forum to be held in a place that has become a regular host for the World Economic Forum!! Sometimes I have very mixed feelings about the effects of Globalization on my Jordan; on one hand I feel excited about all the new investments and the recognition Jordan is getting from foreign countries and companies, and all the new opportunities out there now that didn’t exist five years ago! But then on the other hand, I feel very worried sometimes at how fake some of this is, I wonder to what extent the average middle-class Jordanian gets to benefit from what is happening, I see how Amman is so very different from the rest of the country… and I feel frustrated!!!
Let me tell you though, I believe Jordan is in transition, and I believe that transition is marked by a lot of uncertainties, and a lot of contradictions!! I think there is soooo much potential in this country, and I choose to be optimistic and positive about the future.
Ok I don’t know how this post drifted to this ;) I only set out to say that I’m happy and excited about the WCF taking place in the Dead Sea with so many experts and international figures coming in, and with such wonderfully gripping and important topics to be addressed… yet it takes very little to get me going when the talk taps into the future of Jordan! I don’t want to discuss capitalism right now, and I don’t want to give my opinion on conspiracy theories, and I don’t want to respond to cynics! It’s 3:00 AM right now, and even with a second cup of coffee in a row, I don’t know if I can trust my brain cells to see the task through ;)
Preserving culture, maintaining unique character, and the entire creative process are all issues dear to my heart… and this forum is going to delve through topics like theatre, dance, religion and culture, cultural branding of nations, arts in education... to list a few examples. It will also be accompanied by artistic events every night in places like Petra, Jerash, the Amman Umayyad Palace, and the Temple of Hercules.
Quoting from the WCF website:
“The state of art and culture in the early 21st century clearly bears the marks of globalism and the market, displaying a dramatic erosion of cultural memory and a decline of cultural diversity, that makes the whole of mankind poorer every day. It is paramount among the goals of the WCFA to form the vision of a world in which the role of culture is widely recognized as vital to human, social and economic development and where culture is given a priority before trade on the international agenda.”
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