EUNIC members based in 10 countries across the MENA region gathered in Cairo for the regional seminar, which aimed primarily to address the challenges that EUNIC members and their partners currently face in the region. The event provided a space for colleagues to come together and reimagine the relevance of culture and cultural relations in fragile contexts.

Across the three-day programme, colleagues participated in small group sessions to share valuable expertise, experiences, and approaches to EUNIC collaboration. The seminar also included forward-looking sessions addressing wider geopolitical developments with Nuria Sanz, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Egypt and Sudan/Liaison Office for the League of Arab States, Alice Peslin, Team Leader for Human Development and Inclusive Growth at the EU Delegation to Egypt and the League of Arab States, and Maja Kocijančič, Acting Head of Unit for Strategic Communication and Interinstitutional Relations at the newly formed Directorate-General for the Mediterranean of the European Commission, currently preparing a new pact for the Mediterranean. These discussions focused on strengthening the holistic role of cultural relations between the two regions.

With a EUNIC Mobility Scheme visit running in parallel - and several moments of overlap with the regional seminar - an even wider group of EUNIC colleagues were able to exchange ideas and connect with local cultural organisations in Cairo. For example, participants were joined by the EUNIC Egypt cluster, which has developed the European-Egyptian Cultural Programme (EECP) in collaboration with the EU Delegation. This programme now reaches a wide network of beneficiaries and partners across Egypt. The programme also explored Sabbart, an event organised by EUNIC Egypt that examines how arts and culture can contribute to a more sustainable future.

Participants also had the opportunity to learn from and engage in open conversations with local partners and independent cultural actors in Egypt to discuss capacity, resources, and the relevance of EUNIC members' collective work in the region. This included representatives from the ARD Art Institution, Animatex, The Archive Collective, and Very Nile as well as a keynote for participants of the regional cluster seminar by independent artist and General Manager of Orient Productions, Ahmed El Attar.

A huge thank you to all participants, guest speakers, local partners, the EUNIC Egypt cluster, and host Instituto Cervantes Cairo for contributing to this important moment of dialogue and reflection at this critical time in the region.

Photos from the event can be found here.