Artwatch Africa in partnership with Assalamalekoum Culture and Zaza Production, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Hadcraft, organized from December 14 to 17 the initial workshop on « Human Rights, Cultural Rights and Artist Rights »”, in Nouakchott and conducted by Simone Andrade and Malik Chaoui. This training raised a lot of issues around Human Rights that Mauritanian have to face in their daily life.
After 4 days-workshop, artists, journalists and activists from civil society were invited for a public seminar on « Individual liberty and Culture : freedom of creative expression for a cultural diversity. » on Friday 18th of December 2015. This session was moderated by Pr.Cheikh Saad Bouh Kamara
On behalf of the Minister of Culture and Handicrafts, the Director of Arts and Culture, Adnan Ould Beyrouk addressed the opening remarks and emphasized the importance of culture in social cohesion and national unity. He highlighted the commitment of the authorities in the past years by supporting cultural initiatives, like the festival organized by his department in 2011 and 2013 which focused on cultural diversity. He said that culture is a priority for the national strategy development.
This seminar was also an opportunity for the public to express their demands and their opinion. They also talked about selfishness within the sector.
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