News & Event

The Sultanate of Oman participated with the world in celebrating the World Cultural Diversity Day for Dialogue and Development, which falls on (21) of May each year, with the aim of introducing the world’s cultures and their richness and highlighting the essential role of dialogue between cultures in achieving peace and sustainable development.

Cultural diversity is defined by the Convention on the Protection, Promotion and Diversity of Cultural Expressions as "the multiplicity of forms in which communities and societies express their cultures and transmit them within and among them." This Convention was adopted in 2005 during the thirty-third session of the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Sultanate of Oman joined this Convention in 2007. The Convention aims to promote the diversity of cultural expressions, create conditions for the flourishing and interaction of cultures, encourage intercultural dialogue, enhance cultural communication among peoples, encourage respect for the diversity of cultural expressions, and raise awareness of its value at the local and global levels.

In this context, the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) working group was formed with the participation of members from various cultural stakeholders. This team is tasked with identifying and analyzing all existing initiatives related to cultural diversity with various partner organizations, developing a unified framework for initiatives, projects, and programs related to cultural diversity, reviewing and approving projects submitted for support from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, and preparing and analyzing international reports on the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

This year's celebration of cultural diversity for dialogue and development coincides with UNESCO's celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). This celebration aims to raise awareness of the Convention's key achievements and engage decision-makers in reflecting on the challenges and opportunities for protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions.

The Sultanate of Oman will participate in this celebration by holding a workshop on the mechanisms for preparing cultural projects to obtain support from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). The workshop will be organized by the Omani National Commission for Education, Culture and Science and the International Fund for Cultural Diversity working group in the Sultanate of Oman, in cooperation with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).