On February 25, 2025, UCLG Culture Committee and UCLG-MEWA held an online workshop on the new framework document on Culture 21 PLUS.
Ensuring the participation of Tehran, from Iran; Baghdad, from Iraq; Karak and Amman, from Jordan; Jounieh, from Lebanon; Ramallah, Nablus and Al Khalil from Palestine; Şanlıurfa, Balıkesir, İzmir, İstanbul, Aksaray and Mersin from Türkiye, this productive workshop convened representatives of local governments from six different countries in the MEWA Region.
The workshop commenced with the welcoming remarks of the UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, Dr. Mehmet Duman, and the UCLG-MEWA Ambassador for Culture and Mayor of Şanlıurfa, Mehmet Kasım Gülpınar. Afterward, Jordi Pascual, Coordinator of UCLG Culture Committee, introduced the Culture 21 PLUS framework document to the participants and initiated the discussion.
Through thematic presentations, six different cities conveyed their perspectives on all of the six blocks of Culture 21 PLUS: “Rights”, “Communities”, “Prosperity”, “Territories”, “Nature”, and “Governance”. Later on, the meeting included the active participation of the remaining representatives, with each defining the most prominent block according to their city.
After a productive feedback session, the meeting was concluded with the closing remarks of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Serhan Ada and UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Dr. Mehmet Duman.
The contributions of representatives highlighted the local context in which they manage their cultural assets. For example, local governments from Palestine emphasized the catastrophic impact of conflicts and man-made disasters on culture as well as their ensuing systematic devastation.
The results will be materialized and published online in a final report that reflects the unique perspectives on the framework document, as well as on the current status and future of local cultural policies.
