Welcome to the 14th Informal meeting of Donors of arts and culture in the Arab Region

This page will be updated along the way.

 It is really a pleasure for us to receive you for eventful days in Lillehammer. This relatively small place is in many ways a bit mythical. It is located at the entrance to the Norwegian mountains, with Jotunheimen, Rondene and Dovre. To get to Lillehammer, you should preferably take the train from Oslo Airport to Lillehammer station. The journey takes 100 minutes.

This is the area Henrik Ibsen used for Peer Gynt. In Norwegian literary history, the place has also been significant. Two of our Nobel Prize winners in literature have lived most of their lives here, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Sigrid Undset. Today, the Norwegian Film School in Lillehammer maintains the storytelling, and The literature festival takes place in parallel with our meeting.

In 1994, the city hosted the Olympic Games, so one is used to thinking big. Wexfo is also such a big idea. It is also great for us at Mimeta that you come here to meet each other. It will take place at Maihaugen, which is a folk museum, with a focus on building customs and everyday life. The building where we will have our meetings in is the Maihaug restaurant. It takes 15 minutes to walk there from the center, see the map here.

We have booked rooms for many of you at Hotell Scandic in Lillehammer. This is located 1400 meters from the train station. It is at this very hotel where Wexfo is hosted. We also welcome you to our side event on Tuesday 31 May at 9.00 in Birkebeinersal 1, at Scandic.

Please, download agenda for the meeting (pdf)!
14th Informal meeting of Donors of arts and culture in the Arab Region

Local Transportation

Lillehammer taxi
Bike rental (electric)
For busses, the pink line (se map) is for Maihaugen from town. How to by your ticket (in Norwegian)
Lillehammer is a small place, so walking is a good alternative.

See you for food and fun on 31/5 at 18.00?

This marks a common start for our meeting days in Lillehammer. We have made a reservation for 30 persons - at Parkkaféen We urge you to tell us if you will join - as the kitchen needs to know. The menu is Tomatoed fish soup with fish, shrimps, tails from crayfish and mushrooms, accompanied with herbs, chives and sour cream and variety of bread.
TIME CHANGED TO 18.00!!!
PLEASE, ANSWER WITHIN 25th MAY!!

See you at Park Caféen, Adreess: Søndre Park, Lillehammer.

Accomodation

We have made reservations for 24 attendees at the Scandic Lillehammer Hotel. The group reference number is 47983051. See names and check ins/outs in the list that you can download here.

Contacts


Report from the meeting

The 14th Informal Donors Meeting for Arts and Culture in the Arab Region brought together arts and culture organizations with the donor-group to discuss the challenges and opportunities to working in the region today.

The two-days meeting was held at Maihaugen, Lillehammer (Norway) from June 1st to 2nd 2022. It gathered 39 participants and was hosted by Mimeta, with the kind support of The Ford Foundation & Open Society Foundations.

 

Context and introduction to the report:

The Arab Donor Meeting (hereafter ADM) was held in the context of schismatic events that have had serious implications for the arts and culture scene in region. These implications range from alterations in modus operandi, availability of funding, changes in audience viewing patterns and the nature of artistic production to global political and economic implications. It is with this in mind that the ADM 2022 was scheduled to coincide with the World Expression Forum (WEXFO 2022) in Lillehammer. WEXFO brought to the fore pertinent discussions for the arts and culture sector. These include the state of freedom of speech globally and the impact of war and authoritarian regimes as well as new technologies.

The agenda for ADM 2022 was inspired by three main themes: Connecting and reconnecting; spaces for reflection; and imagining a new future. The stated intentions of the steering committee while planning the meeting were to allow for themes, discussions, concerns and connections to emerge organically while keeping some form of structure to ensure the effectiveness of the meeting.

For this reason, most of the program was scheduled in the form of interactive group exercises. Except from the introductory words by WEXFO director Kristen Einarsson, the opening remarks by the steering committee and a short plenary session at the end of each day, all exchanges between the participants happened in the form of speed-meetings (one-to-one), group discussions, body- and breath exercises and informal talks over meals and coffee.

A number of parallel exchanges took place during the two days at Maihaugen and, as one sole rapporteur, I reckon the impossibility of capturing it all. I have however, tried to “listen in” to as many conversations as possible to name and frame essential topics and concerns. Therefore, in this current report, emerging themes are emphasized over chronology.

The report has two parts: One descriptive Part I, that incorporates the schedule and descriptions of the programme. Part II is a thematic summary of key concerns raised by the participants and their suggested path to move forward.

DOWNLOAD HERE!