His Highness Sayyid Dhi Yazan bin Haitham Al Said, the Honorable Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, has approved the executive plan for the cultural strategy (2021-2040) prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth during the last period.
This strategy comes from the belief in the need to unify national efforts to achieve development in various fields; Transforming the Omani cultural scene into a front for creativity and cultural diversity reflects the civilized face of the Sultanate through an integrated cultural system that exports creativity and is open to other human cultures.
The ministry worked on preparing a comprehensive strategy for the cultural sector, taking into account the importance of a clear work methodology in line with national aspirations that aligns with the objectives of Oman’s Vision 2040, and making it the framework through which cultural work is organized in the next phase according to a development path that defines the features of the Omani cultural scene.
His Excellency Sayyid Saeed bin Sultan Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture stressed that the vision and directions of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth aim to establish the necessary strategic frameworks to strengthen the Sultanate as a leading cultural destination with a solid identity, organize and develop cultural work, create the appropriate environment for creativity, consolidate cultural identity and achieve leadership, development and sustainability locally and globally. Al-Sayed: “The Ministry, through the objectives of its cultural strategy, aspires to empower and encourage the cultural scene by supporting cultural production, sponsoring talented and creative people, supporting studies and research that enhance creativity and development, activating the cultural role of civil institutions and initiatives to consolidate the community partnership system and providing stimulating facilities for cultural creative projects and industries.”
His Excellency added that the Ministry affirms its determination to continue at a steady pace to contribute to building a future that is proud of the Omani identity with its history, heritage and ancient traditions, and opens to the world new and different outlets for creativity and cultural expression, pushes the wheel of economic growth and strengthens the bonds of the social fabric and raises its level.
The strategy reviewed the culture sector and its importance, the responsibilities of the cultural sector, the analysis of the cultural sector, the culture sector’s vision, values and mission, in addition to 11 areas covered by the strategy, its time frame, axes, strategic objectives, policies, systems, and pillars, and the consistency and interdependence between its objectives and those of national, regional and international strategies. As well as the mechanism for implementing and following up the strategy, and the strategic projects of the executive plan.
In this context, the Ministry, through the culture sector, seeks to achieve sustainable cultural development in which growth, development and renewal are manifested as essential elements in the transformation of the Omani cultural scene into a front for creativity and cultural diversity. The ambition to achieve this transformation requires a societal intellectual and cognitive awareness capable of dealing with the transformations the world is witnessing according to its political, cultural, economic and social system, in addition to an institutional ambition that reflects the civilized face of Oman through an integrated cultural system that is a source of creativity and open to other human cultures.
The Ministry, represented by the cultural sector, prepared this strategy through a participatory approach between the Ministry, cultural institutions and those interested in the cultural affairs in the Sultanate. It is based on work teams that contributed to monitoring the cultural scene in the Sultanate and abroad, according to the Ministry’s competencies and roles.
Work on this strategy began with five stages in preparation, represented in the formulation of the necessary forms to collect data from inside and outside the ministry. The forms were distributed to all sectors of the ministry, in addition to the governmental and private academic and cultural institutions in the Sultanate. Using electronic questionnaires and many documents, studies and strategies related to cultural affairs locally and internationally to investigate the Omani cultural scene with its challenges, needs and aspirations.
The vision of the strategy is “Oman, a leading cultural destination with a solid identity”, and the message that the strategy wants to emphasize is “organizing and developing cultural work and creating the appropriate environment for creativity with the aim of consolidating cultural identity and achieving leadership, development and sustainability locally and globally.”
The strategy seeks to achieve eight values, namely the national identity; partnership; creativity and innovation; communication and dialogue; efficacy and quality; openness, pluralism and belonging; professionalism and global standards; and intellectual freedoms.
The strategy dealt with 11 areas, namely identity and intangible cultural heritage; manuscripts; cultural festivals and fairs; libraries, cultural centers and clubs; translation and publishing; the visual arts; cultural communication; cultural initiatives; literature; the performing arts; Finally, events, competitions and cultural prizes.
The cultural strategy is divided into seven axes that include a number of objectives: the first is the axis of “cultural creativity and development”; By enabling and promoting cultural production based on innovation, creativity and innovation in the Sultanate, employing advanced technology to produce and disseminate Omani cultural content, supporting studies and research that enhance creativity and development, and nurturing talented and creative people in cultural fields.
The second axis is represented in the “Cultural Creative Industries”, whose objectives are achieved by enhancing the economic contribution of the cultural sector, providing facilities for projects in the field of creative industries, promoting awareness of the importance of investment in the cultural field, and supporting, supporting and encouraging investment in sustainable creative cultural projects. The objectives of the third axis are achieved through “cultural identity” through the preservation and development of cultural knowledge related to identity, international cooperation in the areas of cultural identity and preservation of intangible cultural heritage, and the dissemination of awareness and knowledge of the Omani cultural identity.
