U40 Arabesque is concerned with the promotion of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the respective Arab Countries aiming at coherent implementation of cultural policies in the region.

In many Arab countries culture and cultural diversity are not taken up as a value, an objective, a priority and an instrument for advancing humanity and human development. Often, there are no clear cultural policies and in some countries there are no cultural policies at all. As rich and diverse the Arab region is, and despite the fact that its uniqueness stems from this richness, governments do not take enough action towards the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. Translating the 2005 UNESCO convention into action in the Arab countries can help overcome the current barriers that hinder culture from being a firm governance priority.

To translate the 2005 Convention into action in the Arab region, young experts felt the need to initiate an extension of the U40 Network “Cultural Diversity 2030″ in the Arab countries, namely U40 Arabesque.

A first kick-off meeting took place in Alexandria in May 2013. A next meeting will be held in Jordan in October 2014 in the context of the CONNEXXIONS Programme of the German Commission for UNESCO. More