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The integration between South America and the Arab Countries has intensified so much in recent years that the acronym ASPA (A of America, S of South, P for Países (Countries) and A for Arabes) has been widely used in the academic, artistic and political world.
ASPA cooperation (between South America and the Arab countries) has generated interest in areas such as culture, education, economics, science and technology,the environment and social issues.
As an accomplishment in the process of inter-regional rapprochement, we highlight the intense cultural and educational exchange established by the creation of the Library and Research Center of South America-Arab Countries (Bibli-ASPA, which has been developing several projects, translating books And organizing exhibitions, courses, film shows, the SACA Festival, etc.) and technical cooperation in reducing impacts and coping with desertification and soil degradation processes.
The South American-Arab Countries (ASPA) Summit is a mechanism based on South-South cooperation and coordination in multilateral forums, whose objective is to bring together leaders and civil societies from the countries of the two regions.
The creation of the ASPA mechanism was proposed by Brazil in 2003.
Thirty-four countries, including South American and Arab States, are part of ASPA.
Under the ASPA mechanism, it is possible to cite several documents highlighting BibliASPA’s role in strengthening cultural and educational cooperation between the Arab and South American countries (ASPA), including:
Declaration of Riyadh: Final Declaration of the Third Meeting of Arab and South American Ministers of Culture (April 2014)
“The Ministers of Culture of South America and the Arab Countries (ASPA)
They reaffirm their support for the work carried out by the Library and Research Center of South America-Arab Countries (BibliASPA), in particular the translation and publication of books in Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish through its own publishing house (EdiçõesBibliASPA), whose expansion is recommended; The website and social media; Documentation and research; The cultural exchange and the Arabic Language and Culture Program, currently developed in Brazil and Argentina with recognized didactic material, concurrently developed as a method of distance learning.
They congratulated BibliASPA for organizing the annual South American Festival of Arab Culture (SACA) since 2010 an, while welcoming that 17 cities participated in the fifth edition of the Festival in 2014, with a wide audience and extensive media coverage, Call on the South American and Arab Countries (ASPA) countries to support the Sixth South American Arab Culture Festival, to be held in 2015.
Encourage the production and transmission of audio-visual material in order to stimulate and promote cultural and economic exchange between countries of both regions through programs funded by public and private sponsors.
They welcome BibliASPA’s partnership with TV Cultura, the largest public TV network in Brazil, to broadcast programs on Arab and Islamic culture and on the Arabic language. They urge all countries in South America and the Arab Countries (ASPA) to contribute to this initiative withFilms, documentaries and other materials, as well as support for translation and subtitling.
They congratulated the city of São Paulo for hosting the ASPA Museum of Arabic Language and Culture, which is being developed by BibliASPA to benefit students, teachers, researchers and society in general, with the aim of promoting a culture of peace, respect for Cultural diversity and critical thinking. They fully recognize the importance of supporting this initiative, which will contribute to the dissemination of Arabic language, literature and culture and to the development of research in these areas, working in partnership with relevant cultural and educational institutions in both regions. They urge the South American and Arab Countries (ASPA) countries to support this initiative in different ways, including donations, organizing exhibitions and supporting closer links with museums, cultural institutions and among others the strengthening of the ASPA Museum.
They created a database on the most important fields of culture, with an emphasis on events and cultural figures from both regions, and request that the Library and Research Center South America-Arab Countries (BibliASPA) supervise the project in coordination with the Authorities concerned in both regions.
They call on the Library and Research Center South America-Arab Countries (BibliASPA) to be responsible for the development and implementation of more translation programs based on the original languages, to and from Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and English, in Collaboration with Arab and South American translation institutions.”
Final Declaration of the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of South America and Arab Countries (October 2012)
The Heads of State and Government of South America and Arab Countries (ASPA) congratulated the Library and Research Center South America – Arab Countries for their important work in promoting Cultural production and academic development of both regions, urging ASPA (South American-Arab Countries) member states to send publications, exhibitions and teachers to the BibliASPA. They Note with great satisfaction, in particular, the first South American Festival of Arab Culture (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Salvador, Buenos Aires, 18-31 / 3/2010); The co-organization of the exhibition “Islam: Art and Civilization”, with 350 works of art, at the largest thematic exhibition in the world in 2010; The publication of several books translated from Arabic into Portuguese and Spanish and vice versa, as well as the Fikr magazine for Arab, African and South American Studies; The Arab and South American Film Festivals, with debates, organized by BibliASPA, and its new website, with special sections dedicated to Education and Culture in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and English.
They also congratulate BibliASPA for offering the Arabic Language and Culture Program at BibliASPA’s headquarters in São Paulo and in Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, with essential support for books in Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic specially developed for Arabic students, Such as Arabic writing: literacy, spelling and calligraphy, and Arabic grammar for South American students; Encourage the expansion of this program to other cities in South America and reiterate the importance of teaching Portuguese, Spanish and Arabic as mentioned in the Final Declaration of the First Meeting of Ministers of Education of ASPA (South America and Arab Countries) Among its objectives, “to promote the teaching of Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese to non-native speakers in both regions” and “recognize the importance of supporting the work of BibliASPA, which emphasizes the promotion of Arabic language and culture in Latin America. South relations and urge ASPA member states (South America and Arab countries) to support their future initiatives. ”
They also recall the signing of Cooperation Agreements between the BibliASPA and UNESCO. They urge other countries to follow this example and to sign similar agreements that could allow the expansion of the bibliographic collection, the Language, Culture and Arts courses, the translation of books and multimedia, the exhibitions and cultural events of BibliASPA. They welcome, in particular, the participation of the ASPA member states (South America and Arab countries) in the Second and Third South American Arab Culture Festival, which took place in March 2011 and 2012, and support the IV South American Arab Culture Festival and the BibliASPA’s 10-year celebrations in 2013.
