History of the project:

	Who are we?
	History of the project
	The idea/the concepts
	As'hab Hakaya- the consultative committee
	Project Partners
	The Funders

In December 2004, thirty people from fourteen Arab countries, who work in the fields of reading, writing and literacy promotion, met for three days in Amman, Jordan as a response to an invitation by the regional UNESCO office as well as the Arab Education Forum. The target for this meeting was to review the various inspiring experiences in the fields of reading, writing and literacy promotion in the Arab World, in an attempt to create a common tool or tools to address this important and vital challenge of education and learning in the Arab World.

The vision, which brought these participants together, was illustrated in considering reading, writing and the literacy, as tools which enhance the growth of a human being's "inner world" and develops "threads" which weave the social and cultural web between individuals in the Arab World as well as others internationally. Rather than viewing these as tools which connect the mind to the text, they are means to connect the mind with life. "The reading of life," rather than the reading of letters and words, is what we propose here as the project's comprehensive vision: to see reading, writing and literacy within the larger context. This approach may aid us in addressing a real problem which we face, that reading and literacy have not improved or increased in our Arab World, despite all initiatives.

The meeting discussed various dimensions relating to reading, expression and illiteracy, and came up with suggestions, tools and ideas towards collaborative and continuous Arab work to try and charge Arab effort towards realising tangible developments on all these dimensions. Among these tools was the use of "narratives" and "storytelling" within an open educational and cultural context in and outside the official educational institutions.

The Arab Education Forum formed a facilitating/consultative committee to dialogue around this theme and communication via email took place over the year 2005. After many e- discussions, an initial meeting was organized in Jordan for the group of individuals and institutions concerned with this idea, and who share the belief in the centrality of the "story" and narrative in learning and life. The purpose of the meeting was to expand on how we can each contribute to a common project and what can be collaboratively achieved in this field.

This meeting was held in November 2006 as a joint effort between the Al Balad theatre and the Arab Education Forum in Amman – Jordan. During the meeting experiences, thoughts and ideas were exchanged and a proposal for common work to achieve this vision was designed. The project "Hakaya" was conceived, based on multiple partnerships lead by five institutions, namely: the Arab Education Forum, Al Balad Theatre, the Arab Theatre Training Centre, L'echangeur/France and MS, Denmark. The project received funding for its first stage from Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures and the UNESCO office in Jordan.

Hakaya project will organize several activities between August 2007 – August 2008, most importantly is the development of a project website, the creation of the "storytellers without frontiers" network, organizing workshops and open residencies for storytellers, hold Hakaya forum which is an itinerant festival starting from Al Balad Theatre in Amman.

In conclusion of the first stage, the second meeting will be held in collaboration with the Creative Forum for Independent Theatre Groups in Alexandria in February 2008. This meeting will include "As'hab Hakaya," which is the consultative group for this project, as well as a number of interested parties from the Mediterranean. This meeting will reflect on the first stage and the collaborative work towards designing the future stages.
 

The idea/the concepts:

A sixteen-year-old girl from Beirut said something to the effect: "I am made of stories and not atoms." This phrase embodies the spirit of what we plan to do. The story is the main constituent of life, the human being, culture and society; it is the main component of thought and communication. As for us Arabs, the story is one of our main tools for liberating the imagination, thought, perception and expression. This freedom is essential for our liberation on other levels. As opposed to the story, academic, scientific, and analytical studies place the human being in a box of mutilated perception, which maybe necessary at times but have detrimental effects if viewed as the only way to perceive the universe.

As often is the case, the biggest challenge is how to handle the story in a way that cannot be exploited in serving the prevailing values and logic, or to make that really difficult at least. We have noticed the rise in focus on stories and the value of expression within different settings, particularly within the sphere of the prevailing logic, relationships and existing perceptions. The main feature in television, for example, is the story. The dominance of the television over intellect and perception present the biggest threat on cultures, societies and people today. This is the case for current youth programs; there is great emphasis on expression of experiences in the form of stories. Consequently, the essential question becomes: when we refer to the story in our group, are we referring to the same thing or an entirely different creature? If we were talking about another creature, how do we guarantee against its exploitation in service of the prevailing logic, relationships and existing perceptions, of which consumerism and waste in livelihood and intellect are basic features? What distinguishes our approach to the story from the ready made frameworks?

As'hab Hakaya- the consultative committee
 

Project Partners:

The Arab Education Forum
Al Balad Theatre, Jordan
The Arab Theatre Training Centre, ATTC, Lebanon
L’echangeur, France
MS, Denmark


The Funders:

Anna Lindh Euro Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures
UNESCO/Jordan