On 3 June, the A M Qattan Foundation signed individual grant implementation agreements with 12 partner organisations participating in the Palestinian Performing Arts Network Programme (PAN), to the total value of SEK4,947,381 (about $700,000). This is the second year of a two-year agreement between the Foundation and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) signed on 21 June 2012 aimed at supporting organisations working in the performing arts, including the Ministry of Education.
With an overall objective to contribute to the development of a democratic and pluralistic society that respects human rights and enhances Palestinian national identity, the programme will target Palestinian children and youth, imparting democratic principles and a conscious awareness of their rights and cultural identity.
Establishment of a network for institutions in the performing arts, a key outcome of the programme, will encourage a more vibrant civil society and performing arts field more able to effect policy change and ensure the field's own sustainability. Bringing together their missions and mandates into a consolidated programme with a wide range of interventions, including the establishing of a sustainable network, partners will work to stimulate constructive dialogue within society at large, as well as between civil society and the Palestinian National Authority.