27 March 2016
Lecture on Cultural Movement in Jordan by H.E. Dr. Lana Mamkegh, Minister of Culture, Kingdom of Jordan
H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA) president, started her speech by saying “Culture unites us because it is a real act of resistance” during an intriguing perspective about the cultural movement in Jordan, past and present, presented by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s Minister of Culture Dr. Lana Mamkegh. The lecture is part of the 17Th Bahrain Book Fair on 27 March 2016, at the Lecture Hall, Bahrain Museum, in the presence of diplomats, intellectuals and cultural lovers from Bahrain and Jordan.
Minister of Culture Dr. Lana Mamkegh, expressed her gratitude and appreciation to H.E Shaikha Mai for her fruitful and constructive efforts to enhance the cultural scene in Bahrain and around the Arab world. The Jordanian Minister of Culture described Shaikha Mai’s experience as an “excellent achievement, and role model for many countries”.
The Jordanian Minister of Culture then reviewed the culture scene movement in Jordan, saying, “Jordan is a country with an ancient history and a rich cradle of cultures and civilizations”. The Minister of Culture then spoke about the founder of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, his love for culture and how he gathered poets and intellectuals around him, setting the stage for today’s strong cultural infrastructure.
Dr. Mamkegh briefed the audience on the history of the Ministry of Culture, a department attached to Tourism and Antiquities in 1964 until 1977 when a separate ministry of culture was established. Dr. Mamkegh also said that the culture of Jordan is in its spoken language, values, beliefs, and ethnicities are Arab as the Kingdom is in the heart of Southwest Asia. Although many people from different regions of the world have come to settle in Jordan, like Circassians and Chechens, they have long been assimilated in the society and added their richness to the society that subsequently developed. Jordan has a very diverse cultural scene with many different artists, religious sects, and ethnic groups residing in the small country due to Jordan's reputation for stability and tolerance. Dr. Lana Mamkegh said, “The Ministry of Culture should reconcile man and space, man and his environment because it is an interactive relationship.”
