Mr Chairman,
Let me first of all, Mr Chairman, and through you the "Polish Asia and Pacific Council", to thank you for inviting me to take part in this world conference on the role of dialogue between civilizations, a key element for international peace and security.
It is clear that the current tragic situation in the Middle East, that some people would like to see as an indication of the clash of civilizations, or the battle between good and evil, throws a particular light on our discussions. In this context, I will speak about the role of the Arab World Institute based in Paris in the dialogue between civilizations.


The idea of creating an Arab World Institute emerged in France in the 1970s, when the risk of a confrontation that could threaten world stability was already on the agenda, following the 1973 oil crisis.
France entertains a very special relationship with the Arab world that has deep historical roots. The first French diplomatic post outside Europe was established in the 16th century, when a consulate was created in Aleppo in Syria, which was a part of the Ottoman Empire at the time. It is a world close to us, with which we have had relationships of conflict in the past. This relationship goes far back in history. Children in French schools learn that the Arab conquest was stopped by the King of France in Poitiers in 732. Then followed the Crusades, Bonaparte's expedition to Egypt and the period of french colonisation. This previous war-torn period of history is over. Our relations with the Arab world are now based on mutual trust and friendship. For us, this is vital, from a geographical, economic, cultural and political point of view. Let us not forget that over 4 million French citizens are of Arab origin.
The creation of the Institute corresponded to a need : to defuse the risk of a new confrontation between western countries and the arab world. In the 1970s, the President of the French Republic, M. Giscard d'Estaing, proposed to create a cultural centre in Paris in association with Arab countries. Its goal was to promote understanding of this world that is close to us and none the less little known by the French public. The Arab countries reacted positively at this initiative. On June 23 1980, the statutes of the Arab World Institute were approved by the representatives of its founder member States. The project was taken up by President Mitterrand, who decided that a building to house the Institute should be erected. It was designed and built by a talented team of architects, in the very heart of Paris on the banks of the Seine river, and opened in 1987. President Chirac has taken great personal interest in the project, fully supporting it and systematically integrating a visit to the Institute in the program for official visits by Heads of State or government as well as for Arab ministers. The Institute rapidly has been enjoying great success and welcomed large numbers of visitors.


I would like to go back in greater detail to the goals set by the Institute's founders. These goals differ in nature, but are complementary.

The first - and I am quoting the statutes - is to "develop and increase the study, knowledge and understanding of the Arab world, its language, its civilization and its development endeavours". The aim is clearly to promote better knowledge of the Arab world at a time when too many clichés and stereotypes abound about countries, a culture and a civilization that are too often misunderstood.
This goal is a fundamental one at a time when many would put the Arab world on trial for its supposed denial of modernity or appeal to violence. The objective is not only to present the past of a rich civilization but also the present and future of countries that aspire to peace, security and economic as well as social development.
The second goal , which is closely related - again, I am quoting the statutes – is to "facilitate common reflection by the French and the Arab peoples on the world of today and its future". To summarise, the aim is for the Institute to be a forum for meetings and dialogue.

Through its various activities, the Institute emphasizes the mutual and beneficial influences that operate on both sides in the fields of the arts, thought and science. The aim is to highlight the exchanges of all types that are taking place between an Arab world undergoing transformation and Europe. This objective is in perfect harmony with the Barcelona process that, since 1996, has brought together the countries of the European Union and the neighbouring countries of the Mediterranean.


These goals were first realized by the setting up of a partnership. The Institute is a unique organisation. It is a kind of "joint venture" between France and the twenty-two Arab countries that agreed to manage and fund it jointly.
A first sign of this partnership is in the fact that the Institute has a two-headed leadership. The President is French and the Director General, whose task is to "run the services and the personnel", is Arab. The current Director General is Egyptian, Doctor Nasser El Ansary. Both are nominated for a three-year renewable term.
The Institute has a Board of Directors.
"The Institute is administered by the Board of Directors", which is a joint body - twelve members, six for France and six for the Arab countries. Each member is elected for a three-year term. The six French members, including the President, are designated by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The French membership includes personalities known for their interest in the Arab world. The current Board includes two diplomats, two academics, a company director and a press editor.
The Arab members are chosen by the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Paris among themselves, respecting a balance between the Maghreb and the Machrek.
The same spirit of partnership prevails in recruiting staff for the Institute. Over half the personnel are of Arab origin, mainly from North Africa, Syria and Lebanon. Almost all employees are of French nationality, but most of the Arab staff hold dual citizenship.
The Institute is also jointly funded. This was the case for the initial investment of approximately €60m. The operating costs are covered by funds from the French State (mainly through a subsidy from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and by the Arab countries. Funding is split among the Arab countries on the basis of their contributions to the Arab League .
I would like to stress the fact that on both the French and the Arab sides, the founding member States hold a deep attachment to this partnership, even if it implies a certain number of constraints and burdens. This is a unique experiment, and, in my opinion, an overwhelmingly positive one. To make it brief, it is a win win game.
Through its cultural vocation, the Institute thus serves a political end, in the widest sense of the word. This is clear both from the goals it encourages and its activities, which are chosen and implemented jointly.
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The Institute, which was, since the beginning, a highly ambitious project, has seen its various activities grow significantly over the years. It has become an integrated cultural centre with numerous and diversified activities.
Firstly, it is a museum that, with the Louvre collections, presents all aspects of the historical, archaeological and artistic heritage of Arab-Islamic civilization. It is as much a museum of civilisations as an art museum, highlighting the past and external influences on the Islamic arts, as well as the cross fertilization of the various trends that blossomed from Spain to as far as Central Asia and India.

The artifacts presented either belong to collections owned by the Arab World Institute, or are long-term loans from certain Arab museums and some private collections. It is a sort of "museum of museums", aimed at encouraging visitors to go to visit the ever-increasing number of museums presenting in the Arab countries an ever-greater wealth of artifacts.
In addition to the permanent museum, the Institute organises a large number of temporary exhibitions every year. These are focusing on a wide variety of fields and with different goals:
- Highlighting the value of individual country's heritage (the major exhibitions organised on Syria and Yemen contributed to raising awareness of the archaeological wealth of these countries, which attracted subsequently large numbers of French tourists);
- Dealing with cross-cutting issues, such as the recent exhibition on Arab Horses and Riders, or the earlier exhibition on Arab medicine;
- Presenting the most recent aspects of Arab culture in the fields of photography, painting, design and sculpture ;
- Underlining the presence of the Christian minorities who have co-existed with Muslims for centuries - an example being the beautiful exhibition on Coptic art in Egypt, and the upcoming exhibition on Arab icons from Syria and Lebanon;
- Underlining the fascination the Arab world held for the great French painters. That was the case with Delacroix and Matisse exhibitions, these painters' works having been strongly influenced by their travels to Morocco. Some of these exhibitions, in particular the last ones mentioned, attracted considerable numbers of visitors, sometimes up to 400,000.
Arab cinema, theatre, poetry and music are presented at the Institute during festivals and biennials, or as part of the regular programming. This year, for "Algeria Year In France", the main part of Algerian cinema, produced by directors in Algeria as well as Algerians in the diaspora, are being projected in the auditorium.
The Institute's vocation as a forum for dialogue is shown through the programming of the unit "meetings and debates" that take a number of different forms - presentation of a book by its author, seminars on themes as diverse as cultural identity, modernity, relations between the West and the Orient and academic conferences on specific issues including history, philosophy and musicology, among others. These meetings bring together Arab and European intellectuals, academics and politicians.

A Language and Civilization Centre offers Arabic courses and also training programs regarding various aspects of Arab-Islamic civilisation. They are geared primarily to people working for government bodies or companies working in Arab countries or in contact with Arab communities in France.
Finally, the Arab World Institute is also an important documentation centre in Europe, with a library of 65,000 volumes, half of which are in Arabic, databanks covering a wide range of fields, a video library, a photo library, and so on.
The Institute also publishes or co-publishes numerous artistic, scientific and educational works as well as Arabic music.
The Institute has certainly contributed to promoting greater awareness of the Arab world, and has been a catalyst for numerous initiatives that show there is a considerable demand to know better the Arab-Islamic world.
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What conclusions can we draw from this experience, as the IMA reaches its 23th anniversary ?

From a quantitative point of view, the different activities organised by the Arab World Institute attract a million visitors per year. Twenty per cent are coming from foreign countries. This figure includes tourists who come to admire the architecture of the building and the view over the heart of Paris from the Institute's terrace as well as students using the library or art-lovers visiting exhibitions. The Arab World Institute ranks among Paris' most-visited monuments.

Surveys carried out on the Institute's public show that visitors have extremely varied profiles in terms of age, social origins and nationality. The major exhibitions attract a cultivated adult public, similar to that of other exhibitions organised in Paris. The library and cultural centre principally attract students who are interested in the Arab world. These visitors include, though they are not the majority, young people belonging to Arab communities living in France who want to learn more about their roots or their mother tongue, which they often only have a patchy knowledge of.

Young people also participate in educational activities, either at the Arab World Institute itself (the museum is visited by around a thousand school groups per year), or outside, through the touring exhibitions that are specifically aimed at school audiences. The Arab World Institute also takes part in a program organised by the City of Paris, which enables school groups to visit in turn the Arab World Institute and the Museum of Jewish Art and History, also located in Paris. There is a determination to show that dialogue is possible on the difficult subject of the relationship between Jewish and Arab communities.
Beyond the figures, I would like to emphasize some more qualitative elements. I believe that the Institute has earned credibility amongst cultural institutions, both with the major French institutions and foreign museums, which are now regular partners for our exhibitions. I think the Arab World Institute has contributed to promoting greater knowledge of a world which, both in France and elsewhere, is not well known, and can provoke reactions of mistrust and even xenophobia. Knowing the Other means recognizing his/her identity, and accepting that we are different. I think that the Institute has played a key role in the fact that the Arab world is generally viewed from a sympathetic standpoint in France. French visitors to the IMA are subsequently travelling to the Arab world in increasing numbers - to Morocco, Syria, and Egypt, for example, and are contributing to this positive image.
The Institute is culturally successful, but has had recurring problems of funding, both due to the ambitious nature of the enterprise and the difficulty in collecting certain contributions. This year, our budget represents a sum of €21m, almost half of which will be self-funded or provided by patrons. This is a significant percentage of resources for a cultural institution.
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The Arab World Institute has an increasingly essential role to play in the present circumstances. We are counting on our Arab partners to strengthen the institution. The following elements are included in the orientations approved by the Board of Directors :
- Focus on the reciprocal influences of the Arab world and Western countries in our exhibitions and museum;

- Develop our "meetings and debates" activities, giving priority to themes that are in the present juncture of common interest - access to modernity, assertion of identities, dialogue with the West, image of the west in the public opinions of arab countries and vice versa.

- Give the IMA greater visibility both in Arab countries and in France as well as in Europe in general. After Warsaw, I intend to visit those European countries with a strong tradition of relations with Arab countries - Great Britain and Germany in particular;
- Develop partnerships both to increase our circle of influence and to share costs with other Arab or European institutions with similar concerns;
- Give a larger access to our rich documentation on the arab world. We want to create a true multi-media library and provide an access to our data bases through internet connection. The Web site will be enhanced and further translated into English and Arabic;
- Enrich our Islamic art museum by increasing cooperation with existing public or private collections in France and the Arab countries;

- Improve our financial situation through better control over operating costs and by developing our own resources and patronage;
These will be our main guidelines for action over the next few years.


As I conclude, Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to make an observation and express a wish.
The observation is that the present situation in the Middle East risk, if we take no initiative, to lead to the famous clash of civilisations so dear to Samuel Huntington, and to encourage extremist elements that may exist in some quarters. We do not believe that democracy can be imposed from the outside by force, we do not believe that modernity can be decreed, we do not believe that terrorism can be fought through repression alone without attacking the roots, the source of the problem.
My wish is as follows: having thus promoted better knowledge of the Arab World Institute at this forum of eminent experts, researchers and personalities working to strengthen dialogue between cultures and civilisations, I hope that this first contact will lead to projects for co-operation. The Arab World Institute is open and ready to develop co-operative projects that work towards increasing dialogue.

These reflections show that the Institute is an efficient setting for meetings and dialogue. It is up to us to avoid a break with the Arab world. We need to strengthen our links with cultural and political representatives, but also with members of Arab civil society. This is a priority for all of us.

Thank you for your attention.



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