Damascus-Sana
The People's Assembly, in its twentieth session of the first ordinary session of the third legislative session, held under the chairmanship of Hammouda Sabbagh, Speaker of the Assembly, discussed the performance of the Ministry of Culture and issues related to its work.
At the beginning of the session, the Minister of Culture, Dr. Labana Mashouh, presented the Ministry's objectives and programs, including the implementation of projects for the preservation and restoration of archaeological monuments, training and qualification of cadres and securing equipment to complete the excavations and registration of archaeological sites using the geographic information system, while some stolen artifacts were recovered in cooperation with international organizations, friendly countries, and Syrian expatriates in the outside.
Minister Mashouh confirmed that the ministry has worked to include the theater of Khayal Al Shadow and the Levantine Rose on international cultural and heritage lists, as well as a project to restore the Great Syrian Revolution in the town of Qarya in As-Suwayda, which includes the remains of its fighter general leader, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.
Minister Mashouh indicated that work is also underway to restore a historic wall, ramshackle, and a dome of historical, archaeological and religious value in Qanawat in Sweida, and to cooperate with the Ministry of Tourism to restore the throne hall in the Citadel of Aleppo and with the Syrian Trust for Development to restore Khan al-Shouneh.
Work is also underway, according to Minister Mashouh, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, to implement a land-to-gold initiative to afforest the affected areas as a result of the fires that broke out in a number of governorates, pointing out that the experience of the Cultural Center in Adra Prison will be generalized to all civilian prisons in agreement with the Ministry of Interior to rehabilitate inmates. Prisons and direct them creatively and productively.
In their interventions, a number of council members called for interest in archaeological sites, raising teacher compensation in institutes affiliated with the ministry, rehabilitating the Aleppo Culture Directorate and the Cultural Center, constructing a musical institute in Aleppo, and creating a theater arts department at the Sabah Fakhri Institute.
Some members pointed out the need to maintain the Hama theater, include a weekly cultural session in the schools program, grant licenses for youth cultural projects, and invest Khan Sinan Pasha in Maaloula, indicating the importance of media coverage of the ministry’s cultural and archaeological activities.
A number of members called for the establishment of a theater on the Corniche of Tartous, the establishment of service centers in the archaeological sites, the activation of the work of the cultural centers aimed at the youth and children, and their provision of the best cadres, calling for the cultural centers to be affiliated with the Ministry of Culture instead of the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment.
Some members emphasized the need to re-launch the Syrian Song Festival in Aleppo, raise the level of cultural festivals, amend laws related to theater work, revitalize the Syrian cultural heritage in the face of the terrorist war, involve cultural elites in the governorates in central cultural activities, and devote a culture of honoring writers, intellectuals and thinkers.
In response to the interventions, the Minister of Culture clarified that the Ministry is working on my heritage project, my identity and my language, to simplify the Arabic language for children, qualify the cadres and train them to deal with the child and bring heritage concepts closer to him and produce films and filmed heritage songs for children. There is an agreement with the Ministry of Education to grant the Ministry an hour of broadcast on the Syrian educational channel Starting next year to publish its production of films, documentaries, etc.
She indicated that work is underway to establish the Heritage Modern Art Museum for the maintenance and documentation of the Ministry’s assets, artistic and plastic products, and there is a project to restore historical documents, the most important of which are manuscripts in the Al-Assad Library. Rehabilitating the Al-Assad National Library and the Cultural Center in Salamieh, and assisting in the rehabilitation of the Cultural Center in Tartous and providing it with audio equipment and seats within the available capabilities.
Minister Mashouh affirmed that the ministry honors the creators and artists influential in the cultural and literary movement, and standards have been set in the General Film Organization by relying on committees from outside the institution to select films and plays that will be produced, indicating that a number of festivals and theatrical performances will be held on the beaches in coastal areas next summer.
The session, which was attended by Minister of State for People's Assembly Affairs, Malloul Al-Hussein, rose to 12 noon on Tuesday.
