Queen Rania Meets Experts in Culture, Art, and Media to Promote Amman as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World for 2002

January 15, 2003

(Office of Her Majesty, Press Department - Amman) Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah commended the success of the cultural activities organized last year as part of Amman the Arab Cultural Capital for the year 2002.

In a meeting with members of the Higher National Committee of the Declaration of Amman the Arab Cultural Capital 2002, Queen Rania said the cultural activities organized throughout the past year represent a crucial step towards enhancing the role of culture at both local and regional levels.

Present at the meeting were Her Royal Highness Princess Wijdan Ali, Minister of Culture Haidar Mahmoud, Minister of Transport and Tourism Nader Al Dhahabi and Greater Amman Municipality Mayor Nidal Al-Hadid.

Queen Rania also commended the efforts exerted by the committee and all the local organizations that contributed to the success of the activities organized as part of Amman the Arab Cultural Capital for the year 2002.

Princess Wijdan said the accomplishments of the committee, which included the establishment of a new Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Jordan, reflect its dedication to building a solid cultural infrastructure in Jordan.

The Minister of Culture highlighted the important role their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania played throughout the past year in supporting the activities of the committee, an effort, he added, that contributed towards ensuring the success of the cultural activities this year.

The Street of Culture, which was part of the festivities marking Amman as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World 2002, is one of the most important social and economic projects built on August 11 street in Shmeisani.

The street, which was opened to the public in July 2002, received a prize granted by the Arab Cities Organization for the best project for urban beautification.

Among the major accomplishments witnessed throughout the past year was the opening of the Jordanian House of Arts (Beit El Fan Al Urduni), a museum specialized in documenting the creative work of pioneer Jordanian artists in the fields of music, arts, handicrafts and drama with the aim of preserving the Jordanian cultural heritage.