The Pillars

The activities and events fostered by the program are regrouped under three main pillars.

Pillar 1 ‒ A Dialogue Process for a Cultural Policy in Egypt - the Organization of Conferences, Seminars and Workshops

The program aims at initiating a national dialogue in the country that will eventually lead to the formulation of a cultural strategy for Egypt. This national dialogue is coordinated by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, involving public and private cultural institutions, and individual experts.

Cultural Debates: Vision for an Egyptian Cultural Policy

Within the framework on the program, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina will hold several cultural debates and create a think-tank consisting of young and senior intellectuals, cultural operators, artists, and public authorities amongst others, to assess the current cultural situation, the main players in the country and the challenges to be addressed.
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Conference on the "Policy Framework for Culture in Egypt"

A three-day high profile conference will be held to disseminate the results at the cultural debates. A large and diversified number of participants will be invited to attend. The conference will highlight and showcase the work of the think-tank. It will exhibit the activities and work done throughout the project, as well as a documentary that chronicles the entire experience.  
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Pillar 2 ‒ Interventions to Identify and Support Egyptian Cultural Operators and Industries

Triggered by the untapped potential that cultural industries in Egypt possess and the positive contribution they can provide, this pillar seeks to map and consolidate the existing cultural operators all over Egypt. It seeks to provide them with the requested tools to boost their activities and facilitate their national, regional, and international exposure.

Mapping and Supporting Cultural Industries in Egypt

As part of this activity, a team of researchers will explore all of the 27 Egyptian governorates for existing cultural industries and will categorize them according to their field of work. The team will also work on compiling the information they gathered in a printed as well as an online directory, which will serve as a methodical reference for the public, the government, and the private sector.
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Pillar 3 ‒ Actions to Support Youth and New Talents

In its attempt to broaden the scope of cultural projects in Egypt, the program also aims to support the capacities of youth and nurture new emerging talents. This will be facilitated through the established cultural centres, as well as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and its other affiliated facilities. Activities and events implemented under this pillar target many age groups, but lays special emphasis on children and youth. Coordination will take place between the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the ministries of Education and Higher Education to extend the program's activities and reach out to school and university students.

Creation of Centres to Foster the Development of Artistic Professions

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina rehabilitated and established permanent outlets in underprivileged areas as a means to encourage the access to arts and cultural participation. The program aims at engaging the inhabitants of these areas, as well as visitors, in artistic and cultural activities. These outlets will host the activities carried out by young artists and will provide spaces for their exhibitions, rehearsals and networking. The two sites that were selected to hold these activities at are:

Bayt Al-Sinnari

The Ministry of Culture secured the utilization of this building of Bayt Al-Sinnari to the BA as a cultural outlet in Sayeda Zeinab in Cairo. The need to use the building as a cultural outlet came as a response to the lack of culturally and historically rich venues throughout Egypt, especially in areas that are not open to more diverse and cultural trends that shape everyday life.
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Kom el Dikka

The historical, yet marginalized, area of Kom el Dikka is to be restored and refurbished. The rehabilitation of Kom el Dikka also involves rethinking and planning the public space to be used for implementing artistic activities, and hence, turning it into a lively cultural outlet that does justice to the vast cultural significance that the area bears.
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Arts in the Classroom

Arts in the Classroom aims to provide the students of public schools, especially those in the underprivileged and overpopulated area with an exposure to culture and arts. In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, a team of artists from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina will visit the public schools in different Egyptian governorates, and provide them with interactive sessions on different types of arts.  
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North and South – An Aesthetic and Exploratory Vision in the Eyes if Egypt’ s Youth

North and South targets 100 youth, from all over Egypt, to embark on a creative journey that will strongly broaden their perspective over Egypt’s cultural richness and strengthen their creative abilities. The journey will act as an inspiration, from which the participants will derive themes for the artworks that they will produce and present at the end of their journey.
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