The Ministers of Culture and Heads of Delegation of African States who met on May 22, 2023 in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, produced a declaration of which the AIB had a copy, in the prospect of laying the foundations for strengthening cultural cooperation between African countries. Statement.
“We, Ministers of Culture and Heads of Delegation of African States, meeting in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, on May 22, 2023, with a view to laying the foundations for strengthening cultural cooperation between our African States and to reflect on the establishment of sine qua non mechanisms for the development of our common cultural action for the present and future good of our fellow citizens.
– Pay tribute to the efforts of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, Sovereign of the Kingdom of Morocco, aimed at strengthening South-South cooperation and supporting the development of the African Continent;
– We salute the pioneering role of the Kingdom of Morocco in the fight against violence, extremism and separatism, as well as the maintenance of peace and security in the African Continent;
– Applaud the choice of the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, Rabat, as African capital of culture for the year 2022-2023;
– Emphasize the strategic importance of culture in the construction of knowledge societies, the promotion of convergence and the contribution to the global and sustainable development efforts of our African States, as well as its main role in the fight against poverty and poverty. establishment of social cohesion between the sons of the same nation and the citizens of our African States as a whole;
– Let us proudly record the richness and diversity of the cultural and civilizational assets that abound in our African States, as well as the human, cultural, common and deep ties that characterize them;
– Appreciate the efforts made at the level of governments and cultural actors in our African States to mitigate the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic, for cultural diversity and to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In addition, the facilitation of citizens’ access to cultural services as a human right guaranteed by international laws and charters;
– Note the importance of diversifying and developing initiatives aimed at strengthening cultural cooperation between our African States in order to establish a participatory approach to sustainable development, establishing culture as its cornerstone and relying on innovative solutions;
– Let us set great store by the close cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and UNESCO in the field of the protection and enhancement of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage in our African States;
– Are attached to the importance of respecting cultural diversity and multilingualism, to the encouragement of intercultural dialogue and the freedom of mobility of creators and intellectuals between our African States;
– Expressour support for the strengthening and improvement of bilateral and multilateral cultural cooperation between our African States, to achieve the objectives of sustainable development by emphasizing the importance of investing in the richness and diversity of cultural, civilizational and heritage capacities. And this, through pioneering and innovative programs aimed at the protection and enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, the development of cultural tourism, the fight against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, the development of cultural and creative industries, the exchange expertise and experience in the cultural, artistic and heritage fields, the creation of opportunities for young people allowing the development of their creative and artistic skills, etc.;
– We undertake to fight against the illicit trafficking of African goods and works of art and to promote the restitution of such goods;
– We will work to strengthen the role of African youth and that of the African diaspora in the preservation of African cultural heritage;
– Will seek to promote rapprochement and coexistence between the population and the cultures of the world, as well as the contribution of the youth and the African diaspora to sustainable development;
– Express our desire to exchange expertise in the field of heritage preservation and the protection of intellectual and cultural property rights with regard to African States;
– Reaffirm the importance of preserving the intangible cultural heritage of all African States and express our support for the creation of the African Observatory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Morocco;
– Reaffirm the need to institutionalize the meetings of Ministers of African States;
– Call for the establishment of an African Charter of Cultural Industries;
– Call for the intensification of the operationalization of cultural diplomacy in the service of the challenges of continental integration in various fields in order to ensure the prosperity of our citizens in a unified continent enjoying a context of peace, stability and development;
– Address our sincere thanks to the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco for the invitation to hold a meeting of this level on the African continent and for the good organization, the generous hospitality and the conclusive results of this meeting that we undertake to implement in our respective African states.
– We invite the other Ministers of African States to associate themselves with the Rabat declaration for the strengthening of cultural cooperation between African States and to implement its results”.
Source: Burkina Information Agency