Our First Gathering: Amman, Jordan
The first stop in our learning journey was Amman, where the twelve participating organizations came together in October 2024 to reflect on why we do the work we do — and how our roles contribute to the wider ecosystem of arts and culture in the region.
The tension between the terrifying realities in the region and the necessity to envision better futures and to act now is undeniable and the possibility of cultivating jasmine may seem blurred or even distant at times.
During our time in Jordan, Tajalla and Khidr Collective welcomed us into their spaces and grounded us in their lived contexts, generously sharing the stories, challenges, and practices that shape their everyday work. Their presence and hosting anchored our conversations and reminded us why this work matters.
Together, with our colleagues from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, we followed our guiding quesiton on this path: “How can we further evolve and build field supporting roles within the civic space of arts and culture in the MENA region?”. We took inspiration from the Dead Sea and the marine ecosystems with its delicate balance of conditions and dynamics that either enable underwater life to flourish or leave it struggling.
Looking to our own contexts, we shifted from organisational logics to an ecosystem perspective and asked ourselves:
- What is the current state of the ecosystem I am a part of?
- What could a healthier ecosystem look like?
- And what supporting roles are needed to nudge the ecosystem towards more desireable futures?
With the support of the Ecosystem Journal, these conversations helped each organization begin shaping their experimentation plans – concrete ways of testing new approaches and practices within their respective fields.
The next gathering will take place in Tunis in May 2025, where we will come back together to reflect on how these experiments are unfolding in practice – and what we are learning along the way.
