Syrian Minister of Culture: Spreading culture is priority

Minister of Culture, Lubana Mshaweh said that the main priorites for the Ministry are protecting antiquities, activating cultural centers and following on the national plan for translation, in addition to spreading culture all over Syria. In a statement to SANA on Tuesday, Mshaweh stressed the importance of culture in combating extremism and helping everyone to accept others and understand them to dialogue with them. The Minister indicated that the Ministry's plan for 2013 concentrates on improving the performance of the cultural centers and activating their role in spreading culture over Syria which has really begun in Damascus through opening centers for reading in Old Damascus, in addition to supporting youth theatrical and musical projects. She said that the Ministry has taken exceptional measures to protect antiquities, rare archeological pieces and historical documents under the current circumstances in the country, pointing out to closing a number of museums which have been attacked by the armed terrorist groups. She expressed concerns over transgressions against archeological sites and illegal excavations and theft of these sites. The Minister highlighted the role of the General Establishment for Books, stressing the need for reviewing children magazines because of their impact on children. Regarding translated books, she indicated that there are certain criteria that mainly depend on the content and the correct Arabic language in addition to preserving the value of the text. Mshaweh added that the Ministry is to launch a national plan for translation. As for theatre in Syria, Minister Mshaweh said that Ministry gives great attention to theatre and encourages youth on producing theatrical shows. Mshaweh stressed the importance of establishing a museum for contemporary art, adding that an online website for plastic art is to be created soon.