Algiers prepares to be 2007 Arab cultural capital

07/12/2006

Algiers is preparing to be the 2007 Arab cultural capital. Officials have just a few more days to make up for the delays in renovating the city. For a year, the Algerian capital will host a variety of culture and art from across the Arab world.

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers – 07/12/06

The Algerian capital is stepping up preparations for hosting the 2007 “Arab world cultural capital” event. Authorities are working to showcase urban centres, especially Algiers, in their best light.

Some Algiers residents say they no longer recognise their city. Walls have been repainted, pavements resurfaced, green spaces and public squares restored.

But the preparations, which should have started in July, are still well behind schedule. In a November 18th speech on national television, Culture Minister Khalida Toumi said that delays had been compensated for and that the detailed programme and final budget for the renovations will soon be made public.

Interior and Local Authorities Minister Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni has issued firm instructions to bring this “collective challenge” to completion, and “to prove to the Arab world that Algeria is still alive and kicking,” added Toumi.

“There will be visitors coming to Algiers. We must offer them comfort, and especially security. I do not want any of our guests to be attacked in the street or robbed. We should make the necessary resources available, especially to improve sensitive areas such as transport, security and hygiene,” Zerhouni recommended, insisting that deadlines for the redevelopment work be observed.

Algerians seem to look favourably on these efforts. “If the cultural event must start by cleaning up the city and making it safe, then we’re overjoyed,” says Saliha Touri, who works in a bank near Port Said Square in the heart of Algiers.

The country appears to have big plans for continued renovation.

There are currently plans under way to create more than 10,000 new parking places. Only 8,500 spaces are available, but an estimated 50,000 are needed.

Decorative lighting will appear on all the maritime façades and major high-rise buildings in the capital will be lit. There will also be decorative lighting displays along all the major roads in the wilaya.

The 2007 cultural programme will include cinema, theatre, music, plastic arts and literature.

Museums will be hosting painting, photograph and plastic arts exhibits. An exhibition on Ibn Khaldun, the Arab philosopher and sociologist from the Middle Ages, will be moved from Tunis to Algiers for the event. Algiers will also host an exhibit on Cairo and the Fatimid dynasty.

Music will include a variety of genres: Bedouin, Andalouse, Chaabi, Malouf, Gnawi, Raï and Kabylian, according to event organising committee co-ordinator, Kamel Bouchama.

“We are planning 48 weeks of culture in every wilaya. We have instituted a kind of twinning. This consists of bringing a country together with Algeria to create exchanges and enrich one another through reciprocal experiences. The same will apply to world music, with Algerian musicians meeting those from Egypt, modern music followers will meet their Libyan counterparts, and the Bedouin style will bring Algerians and Jordanians together. Morocco and Algeria will get together to study and perform Andalouse,” said Bouchama.

The Arab Cultural Capital is a UNESCO initiative, under the Cultural Capitals Programme to promote and celebrate Arab culture and encourage regional co-operation. Maghreb cities that have served as Arab cultural capitals since the project began in 1996 are Tunis (1997) and Rabat (2003).

Source