Two regional art organisations, the Arab Fund For Arts and Culture (Afac) and Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy), have launched an emergency fund of more than $1 million (Dh3.67 million) to support Lebanon’s struggling arts sector.
The organisations, both headquartered in Beirut, made the announcement as the country sinks deeper into its worst-ever economic crisis, compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
“We see this year as a turning point in the lives of [struggling arts] organisations,” said Rima Mismar, Afac’s executive director. “We want to give them a bit of support to avoid any immediate crash just because they do not have access to their [bank] accounts or cannot carry on with their activities.”
Helena Nassif, managing director of Culture Resource, added that the current economic crisis posed a threat to a number of organisations.
At the risk of sounding cheesy, every crisis has two sides to it
Lebanese banks restricted access to cash in American dollars after nationwide anti-government protests erupted last October, bringing the activities of many organisations, artistic or otherwise, to a halt as the value of the local currency plummeted.
“As a result, a lot of artists or cultural practitioners would either need to leave the sector or leave the country,” Nassif said.
To be eligible for a one-time grant via the solidarity fund, which is sponsored by the US Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation, organisations must be at least two years old and have a track record of proven social engagement with local communities.
Though they do not have to be headed by artists of Lebanese nationality, they must be based in the country. Depending on the jury’s assessment, up to 16 structures will receive between $20,000 and $80,000 each. The deadline for applications is Monday, June 15.
This is the first fund set up collaboratively by the two organisations, which have been co-ordinating closely since Culture Resource moved its headquarters from Cairo to Beirut in 2017.
“It felt natural. We want to extend our support and solidarity to the arts and culture sector as two regional organisations, as well as stand in solidarity with each other,” said Mismar.
The grants can be spent on whatever the winning organisations deem necessary, from staff salaries and rent to collaborations.
“We do not expect these organisations, at this point in time, to actually have a full strategy or vision on how they will adapt to the situation,” said Mismar. “We were more sensitive to the fact that they need time and some resources to be able to sit together, think and reflect on their mission and their engagement with their communities.”
Both Mismar and Nassif are optimistic, however, that disruptions caused by Covid-19 and the economic crisis represent a moment of opportunity for the arts sector.
“At the risk of sounding cheesy, every crisis has two sides to it. There are definitely challenges and negative impacts. At the same time, it does somehow open a moment to think of things differently. This is where aligning immediate needs with longer-term strategies needs to be balanced well,” said Mismar.
“The same kind of questions that were raised in Lebanon last October and November are now discussed elsewhere in the world …[about] the value system we carry and the role of the arts in contributing to creating and imagining a better or different kind of society,” said Nassif. “The moment of questioning we had in Lebanon is now global.”
Lebanon’s arts and culture scene also contributes significantly to the local economy, Nassif adds. “It’s important to think of this sector as productive. It’s not a bunch of artists in a bubble,” she said.
Lebanon's cultural sector represents 5 per cent of the country's GDP, or $1 billion and 6,000 companies, the director of the French Cultural Institute in Beirut, Veronique Aulagnon, told local newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour on Friday.
The moment of questioning we had in Lebanon is now global
Individual artists are excluded from the solidarity fund but both Afac and Culture Resource support them separately on a regional level.
On Tuesday, June 2, Afac will launch a scheme to sponsor up to 150 artists with $3,000 each while they stay at home.
In mid-May, Culture Resource added a specific Covid-19 component to a pre-existing programme, Stand For Art, that gives grants to artists at risk. The initiative, which targets artists experiencing hardships as a consequence of Covid-19, will be re-assessed later in 2020 based on how the pandemic develops.
For more information about the solidarity fund, visit arabculturefund.org
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Power: 272hp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 331Nm from 5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.7L/100km
On sale: now
Price: Dh149,000
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
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Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
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F1 line ups in 2018
Mercedes-GP Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez; Renault Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jr; Williams Lance Stroll and Felipe Massa / Robert Kubica / Paul di Resta; McLaren Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Toro Rosso TBA; Haas F1 Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; Sauber TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
