Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) is a regional, non-profit organization that seeks to support artistic creativity in the Arab region and to encourage cultural exchanges within this region and with the developing world.
The work of Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) is based on an appreciation of the value of the Arab cultural heritage and an awareness of the need for a new Arab creativity that liberates the imagination and stimulates progress.
Culture Resource also believes that artistic and literary activities are a social necessity that demands moral and material support by all active powers in the society.

Background

Most Arab countries share a wealth of historical cultural references that accumulated throughout centuries as a result of linguistic, religious, environmental and geographical affinities.  The peoples of the region also share a history of colonization and military occupation and its consequent cultural, social and economic ailments.  The positive aspects of this common legacy include potentials for wide distribution of cultural products within the Arab region as well as opportunities for joint work and shared learning amongst Arab creators.

On the other hand, and notwithstanding the fact that each Arab society has its own set of specific problems, Arab creators generally face common challenges imposed on them by restrictive social and political environments.  Among these challenges are restrictions on freedom of expression, lack of opportunities for serious cultural dialogue and weakness of the economic infrastructure that supports culture.

The task of facing these challenges, and finding interim and permanent solutions to them, requires persistent collaborative efforts by independent intellectuals, artists and cultural organizations on the long term.  Cultural Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) was established to stimulate and lead such efforts.

Core Values :
• Respect for all forms of expression, regardless of religion, ethnicity, colour, race, social class and language.
• Maintaining gender equality at all levels of the work.
• Supporting Arab artists and writers who work under conditions of occupation and military aggression.
• Attention to cultural projects that come from economically and politically deprived communities.

Objectives

• To nurture a new generation of creators in the Arab region.
• To assist in the formation of a stable economic base for independent cultural work in the region.
• To open channels for collaboration among creators within the region and with their peers in developing countries.
• To stimulate dialogue among intellectuals and artists on important cultural issues and their social and political contexts.