KUWAIT: Kuwait National Council for Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has remarkably developed starting with activities at the local level when it was established in 1973 and later in the years expanding them at the regional and international levels. The NCCAL, in half a century, succeeded in mirroring Kuwait’s national and cultural identities, Kuwait’s advocacy of openness and efforts to enrich cultural knowledge. Establishment of the council was planned by the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah when he served as crown prince and prime minister.

He had personally launched the initiative of establishing the NCCAL, first chaired by the late minister of state for cabinet affairs, Abdulaziz Hussein. The late minister had shouldered the responsibility of executing the plan, with aid of elite Kuwaiti literati, thinkers and artists. An Amiri Decree was issued during the era of the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah on July 17, 1973. It had been decided to place the council after its birth under umbrella of the crown prince, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

In later years, the council received special care and attention from the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, and currently by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Currently, the council executes the 2023-2028 strategy, designed to bolster Kuwait’s status on the global cultural map—with follow-up and support by the Minister of Information, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi. Minister Al-Mutairi holds regular meetings with the council’s leaders to tackle cultural issues and challenges facing it.

The NCCAL holds regular festivals and activities, issues dictionaries and references, organizes exhibitions, conventions and festivals, seminars and presents awards. Moreover, its personnel have helped in discovering relics and ancient treasures. Furthermore, it backs the Kuwaiti diplomatic missions on the international and Arab arenas. Locally, it runs more than 17 cultural centers in Kuwait’s six governorates as well as on Failaka Island.—KUNA